One Summer
by hASHbrown130
Summary: A/U:A grief stricken Arizona has difficulties moving on with her life until one summer she meets Callie Torres, a free spirited woman who teaches Arizona to live life in the moment. More in depth summary in the text.
1. Chapter 1

Title: One Summer

Author: hASHbrown130

Pairing: Callie and Arizona

Rating: T

Summary: A/U: Told from Arizona herself, Arizona retells you her story of how one summer changed her life. A grief stricken Arizona is living her life as a mere shell of her former self. One summer she meets Callie Torres, a free spirited woman who lives her life to the fullest that she can. Callie opens Arizona's eyes to all the beauty and adventure that life has to offer despite all the bad that life possesses, but Callie too, carries a burden that she is keeping secret from Arizona.

Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy. All characters are the property of ABC Studios and Shonda Rhimes. No copyright infringement intended.

A/N: Some of you after reading this may think "WTF? Where's Callie in this?" Sit tight with me on this one. She will come into play soon. It's just important to read the backstory first.

Chapter 1

Life is fascinating to me. It's a pretty vague and blatant statement, I know but the fact of the matter is, life is just completely fascinating. How simple yet complex it can be. How two people's lives can be so inextricably intertwined is a force of nature that is beyond my comprehension. Or how life can throw you all these curve balls. Completely throw you off course, or at least the course that you had set for yourself. That's what happened to me. I thought my life was smooth sailing. I had everything I thought I wanted. But then in the blink of an eye everything changed. I swear, I woke up one morning and my life was no longer on the path that I had laid out for myself. I had been thrown so far off course that for a while I didn't know how to get back on track. That was until I met someone who showed me that some things in life are out of our control and we can either fight it, or accept it and make the best of it. This is my story.

12 Months ago…

Everything in my life was perfectly placed. I had a fantastic job, apartment with a view and a girlfriend who was wonderful in every sense. She was my lover and my best friend. I had finished law school a couple years ago and was offered a job at a very reputable law firm in Los Angeles California. So I had packed up my life in Missouri, my girlfriend since my junior year in college and moved out to LA. Our life was perfect. We were moving in together, I was starting my new job as a lawyer, and my girlfriend Joanne started her job with an advertising agency. Everything was perfect until one day it just wasn't.

I came home one night after a long day of work and I found suitcases sitting at the door of the apartment. I took my jacket off, and started to make my way into the living space when Joanne emerged from the bedroom, with another bag in tow.

"Hey Joanne, you going somewhere?" I asked.

"Umm, yeah you could say that." She responded with a nervous laugh. It was obvious to me that she was avoiding answering my question.

"I know I've asked you this once or twice before, but are you okay?" I asked her. The past few weeks she seemed to be on edge and every time I asked if she was okay, she'd tell me she was fine and that it was just stress from her job. Sad fact is that every time, I'd believe her.

"Yeah I'm fine. Why do you keep asking me that?" She asked me. She put the bag in her hand down by the door with the other one and grabbed her purse. Completely avoiding eye contact with me she started to dig through her purse, frantically looking for something.

"You've been really snarky and sharp with me lately. Quite frankly, it's been hurtful to have to endure your attitude with me." I said sharply.

She stopped what she was doing and made eye contact with me for the first time since I got home. There were tears in her eyes, and that's when I knew. She had been spending a lot of time with Chrissie some girl from the agency she worked for and she kept telling me it was because they were working on a project for a client. Again every time I believed her. I believed her until this moment. This time I knew. It was written all over her face.

"You're moving out." Was all I managed to say.

She looked down to the floor, and I could hear the sadness in her voice. "Yeah."

"It's Chrissie, isn't it?" I asked. I knew it was her, but I had to hear it from her. I had to hear her admit it to my face.

"I didn't plan for this to happen. Arizona you have to know that. I never expected this to happen at all. But from working together, I fell in love with her. I fell for her hard and I feel like I have to give it a shot."

"I just…I don't get it. I don't get it Joanne. We're happy. We've been together since college. You want to throw all that time away? I don't understand. I don't understand what I possibly could have done to make you want to run into the arms of some other woman. What lies did you tell her about me? Did you tell her I was abusive? That I've been sleeping around behind your back? Or that I was never around? Tell me Joanne, because I, for the life of me can't understand why you want to leave." At this point I couldn't hold my tears in any longer and the tears began to slowly fall down my face.

"No I never lied about who you were. Chrissie isn't proud of this any more than I am. And you did nothing wrong. I fell in love with Chrissie though. I just…you and I were best friends before we became more. Always remember that. You are my best friend, and I hope that one day we can get passed this, and be best friends again." She said as she pulled me into an embrace.

At that point I had lost all control of my emotions and I held on tight. "I love you, Joanne."

Joanne held on tighter and whispered in my ear. "I love you too, Arizona."

Joanne then pulled away, took my face in her hands and slowly kissed me. She then backed away grabbed her bags at the door, and walked out of the apartment. That was the last time I ever kissed her.

After that I was completely heart broken. She had been my girlfriend for so long, that I always thought that we'd be together forever. But life through Chrissie into my world and changed everything.

A month later, I was still hurting. I don't think the hurt would ever really go away but I had learned to manage and move on with my life. Joanne and I hadn't really spoken much. She tried calling me several times, and I tried ignoring the phone calls but eventually I just had to answer her. I told her that I needed space to put myself back together after what she had done. She told me she understood and that she'd wait for me to be ready to talk to her.

Finally a month later, I was moving on, and that's when I got an unexpected call from a crying Joanne on the phone.

"Joanne, is everything okay? You sound very upset." I asked her.

"Umm can you come over? I really need someone right now." She responded back to me.

"Well, where's Chrissie?" I asked. If she needed someone, why wasn't Chrissie that person?

"Please, Arizona?" She begged. Her pain was evident in her voice. Despite everything at one point in life she was my best friend. Well one of them other than Teddy.

"Okay, okay. I'll be right over." I said before hanging up the phone. I grabbed my purse, and my keys and quickly made my way out of my apartment, and drove to Chrissie's house.

When I got there, I was hesitant to ring the door bell. This was the house of the woman who stole the love of my life from me right under my nose. But Joanne needed me, for reasons I wasn't sure of yet. I built up the courage, and pressed the door bell. Joanne opened the door almost immediately and flung her arms around me tightly and in a natural instinct all I could do was hold her while she cried in my embrace. I ushered her back inside the house and into the living room. We sat side by side on the sofa in silence for a couple of minutes. Finally I couldn't take the silence any more.

"Okay, Joanne. You have to talk to me, because I have no idea why I'm here. I asked for space and now I'm here in your new lover's house comforting you because you're upset and I have no idea why."

" I called you because you're my best friend. And I needed my best friend right now."

"I asked for space…if you need someone, turn to your girlfriend." I said. I knew it was a little harsh, but at this point in my recovery from having my heart broken, I was no longer heartbroken. I was furious.

"Arizona, Chrissie left." she said to me, with tears still flowing down her face. I felt bad for Joanne but I was still mad that she left me for Chrissie. And then there was a complete other side to me that was raking in the joy at Joanne feeling what I went through with her. But still, sympathy seemed to have won me over.

"What do you mean she left?" I asked. I knew damn well what she meant, but I wanted her to say it aloud.

"I mean, she packed her things and left. She couldn't handle me being sick so she left."

I couldn't contain my laughter. "Joanne that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. So what you have a cold? She left you because of a virus or a cold?"

"I don't have a cold, Arizona. I'm seriously sick." She said not once looking me in the eye.

"Well what could you possibly have, that would make Chrissie dump you?" I knew deep down I was being a little harsh, but at this point, Joanne was being cryptic about everything.

"Arizona, she left me because I have cancer." Was all she said to me.

I remember her saying those words to me like it was yesterday. The utterance of those words made the room so tense, you could cut the tension with a knife. I hated this woman so much for leaving me so suddenly; I hated her with almost every fiber of my being. But I still loved her. I was still very much in love with her, and this only made me hate Chrissie even more. Not only did she take the woman I loved away from me, she treated her like shit, and tossed her aside when things got hard.

"Joanne, listen to me. Forget Chrissie. Don't you worry about a thing. I'm here now and everything is going to be alright. I'll take care of you. I promise you, you're gonna be okay."

Two weeks later….

"Jo, come on! You're first chemo appointment is in half an hour! Let's go!"

Joanne came down the stairs dressed in jeans and a simple t-shirt. She put on her shoes, grabbed her purse and looked to me.

"Are you ready?" I asked her. Placing my hand on arm rubbing slowly to sooth her nerves.

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess."

So there I was, making a mistake no doubt taking care of a woman I was in love with who broke my heart. Literally ripped it from I chest and tore it to shreds. But she needed me. There was no one else.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Joanne's first round with chemo, really took a toll on her. She was throwing up everything she ate, it really tired her out. She could barely get out of bed half the time. But through helping her, my anger seemed to fade away and all I could think of was her. What she was going through, and despite how she hurt me, she was right; we were best friends and she needed me. It was a healing process for both of us I guess you could say.

We would stay up late and talk about anything and everything. Through our conversations we reconnected on a way that I hadn't realized until that moment that we had lost. We had lost it when we crossed that line between friends and something more. It felt good to have her as my friend again, but it hurt that we weren't more.

Joanne had her good days and her bad. The bad sometimes got ugly. She would try and push me away. She'd sometimes curse at no one in particular and sometimes she would cry for hours on end and there I would be holding her till there was nothing left to cry about.

On her good days, Joanne seemed to feel better and stronger than ever. Those days were always the best. I had taken a leave of absence from work so that I could tend to her needs. On those good days that I mentioned, we would spend the entire day together. Sometimes we would go shopping, or we would plan to go out for a nice lunch or dinner. We had a blast. Early mornings if she was up to it, we'd go to the beach and have breakfast out by the water.

_My friend Teddy never understood why I was doing what I was doing._

"_She dumped you Ari, for another woman. And when that woman kicked her to the curb, she comes crawling back to you and you let her." Teddy said to me. _

_Teddy never really liked Joanne. Always thought that she was not the one for me._

"_You don't think that I know that? I know what she did. I lived it, remember? But I still love her Teddy. And the truth is, she has no one. She's got no friends out here because she's pushed them away, she's got no family out here, they're all back in Missouri. The woman she thought she was in love with left her, and she's got cancer. I mean, what a bunch of crap that is." I responded. _

"_I know and it's terrible, but….."_

"_No, Teddy. There is no but. I'm all she has. There is no one else. And I still love her, and I know that she still loves me too."_ I said. I didn't want to sound like I was being delusional but I knew in the way Joanne and I interacted with each other that there was still strong feelings there.

My life went on like this for nearly six months. I would drive Joanne to her doctor's appointments, I'd bring her home, prepare her meals and we'd stay up late and talk for hours on end.

Then there was one morning that I woke up to the sound of rain falling. Rain doesn't occur too often here in LA but I had never had a strange feeling when ever it rained. But this particular morning, I couldn't shake this strange feeling that I had when I woke up that morning.

I got up out of bed and went through my usual routine. I washed my face and grabbed a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt and headed into the kitchen to make my breakfast. And not once, not even for a second did that strange feeling that I woke up with.

Then sometime later the phone rang. The phone rang and that feeling only intensified. I answered the phone and when I heard what the person on the other line had to say, I dropped everything and ran out to my car.

I drove as fast as I could to the hospital. It was Teddy on the phone who had called me. She's a surgeon at St. Ambrose hospital and when she found out that Joanne was brought in, she immediately called me.

Running into the hospital, I was greeted with Teddy who immediately took me to where Joanne was. I watched from the window of her room as the doctors were wiring her up. She looked incredibly pale and so weak. After the doctors were finished, I went in and sat with her while she slept.

At some point or other, Teddy came in and sat with me aswell. It was one of those times that I was thankful that Teddy never spoke a word to me. She just sat and held my hand while I watched Joanne.

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to feel at that moment. Here was this woman; who had loved me, then left me. Then she needed me when everyone left. And there was me who was still in love with her and wouldn't openly admit it to her, and yet I continued to take care of her. There I was. I was sitting in a hospital room watching the woman that I have loved for most of my adult life up till that point slowly die and leave this world behind.

I don't remember much past that. At some point or another, I had fallen asleep. But one memory that I will never forget is when I woke up. I had woken up to a very quiet room. All was quiet in the room except for the beeping from the monitor.

I looked to Joanne, who didn't seem to have moved from when I last remember looking at her. She was still peacefully sleeping and then suddenly the sounds coming from the monitors changed from a steady rhythm to a solid, constant ringing. I knew what that sound meant. I switched into panic mode and before I knew it nurses and doctors were running into her room, pushing me aside as they tried to revive her.

Time seemed to stand still the entire time as I watched. Teddy was just around the corner and she ran to my side and held me as I watched Joanne slip away from this world.

And just like that, she was gone.

It was a mere few weeks later and there I was standing in a cemetery with Joanne's family and people who she once considered to be her friends as we listened to the sermon. I couldn't hear a thing though. I felt so numb inside that I couldn't feel anything.

After the sermon was over and everyone was making their way back to their cars, I stood behind and watched as they lowered Joanne's body into the ground. That was it. That was the moment that solidified the fact that she was gone. She was gone and she wasn't coming back.

I never got to tell her everything I was feeling. Some how I think she knew because I had always felt that during that time, the feelings were mutual but I never actually got to utter those words.

For weeks, I hid in the seclusion of my apartment. I couldn't face work, my friends, family. I just couldn't face the world. Every single day, someone would call just to check up on how I was feeling and every single day I would ignore the phone calls and wallow in my grief.

Joanne, was the one I thought I would spend my life with. Grow old with and raise a family with. We were going to have a nice big home with lots of pets and lots of our own kids running around in the yard and we would be happy and in love. But those dreams died the second that she slipped away from me. The second that her body was lowered into the ground finalized it. It made it official; made it real.

That pain; that degree of hurt, like the love I had for Joanne never really went away. I still carried it with me, but I had somehow, forced myself to manage and to try to move forward with my life. To pick myself and keep pushing on. But I never felt the same. That person that I was when Joanne was still here was gone. I didn't know if I'd ever get back to myself or if that part of me was dead too.

I dove right into my work. My work as a lawyer became my life. I ate, slept and drank my work. It was all I had to keep me from losing my mind, and keeping my emotions in control. My friend Teddy would tell you that I turned into a robot. And to tell you the truth, she would be right. I couldn't recognize the person I had become. Because the truth is, I was hardly human.

Remember how I said that sometimes life throws you curve balls? Well after all the curveballs with Joanne, I didn't think that life could throw me any more curveballs. Well, guess again. This one particular day six months ago, Teddy rang me up.

"Arizona Robbins"

"Hey, Ari." I heard Teddy ask me on the phone.

"Hey, Teddy. What's up?"

"What's up? What's up is that I can't put up with much more of this to be honest, Arizona." she said to me. I had no clue what she was talking about.

"Okay, first off interesting way to say hello to your best friend and second, you're going to have to explain to me what it is that you can't handle because I have no clue what the he'll that just was."

"You. What you're doing to yourself. What you've become. This isn't you. The Arizona I knew was perky and happy and fun. Now, you're at work all the time, you hardly ever call or come by the hospital." She said to me. She was right but I was also very stubborn and wouldn't admit that she had a point.

"Teddy, I took a lot of time off work to take care of Joanne and now I have to catch up on all the hours I missed working on my cases."

"Arizona, you're hiding behind your work. You're using your work as an excuse to hide away from the world because you are still holding onto your pain. I know that it still hurts and that will never really go away, but Joanne wouldn't want this for you. She would want you to enjoy life. To live, Arizona. "

"I'm living, Teddy. I get up every morning and I go to work like anyone else." I responded to her. This conversation, I remember at the time was frustrating me, to the point I wanted to rip my hair out.

"No you're not, Arizona. That's a load of bull and you know it. You need to come with me to the beach tomorrow. Just for a couple hours to enjoy the sunshine, the air. You used to come with me all the time. Just, please. Come out to the beach."

I knew she was right and I really didn't want this conversation to drag on so, naturally I caved and gave in to my friend's request.

"Okay, sure. Fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

Little did I know, my life was about to get another curve ball. The curve ball that would jump start my life


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey everyone! So sorry about the delay on this update. I've been incredibly busy with work and volunteer stuff lately. But here I am finally with an update for you all on this story. **

**I'm trying something different with this story. When I write, I like to picture it in my head as if it were an actual episode or movie, and I often listen to music that inspires some of the events that happen. So basically this story has a soundtrack. Deciding whether to reveal song choices throughout as the story unfolds or to send a separate update at the end of the story with the list of songs. **

**Let me know what you think. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy this update and thank you for your comments.**

Chapter 3

I woke up to a sunny morning and immediately remembered that I promised that I would spend the day with Teddy down on the beach. So moaning and groaning I got out of bed and got ready. Within an hour and a half, without fail, Teddy was outside my apartment door waiting for me.

We went to a nearby coffee shop, grabbed some breakfast and made our way to the beach. Once we got settled out on the sand, and I took a smell of the fresh ocean air, I knew that this was something that I needed.

I sat down on my blanket and stared out at the ocean as I sipped my coffee. The scenery before me was relaxing. It allowed me for the first time since Joanne's death to clear my head a little. A chance to think and reflect on my life. Teddy sat next to me, not really saying much, partially because I think she knew I needed the silence, and partially because she was still half asleep.

As the day progressed and the sun rose higher, the beach started to fill up with more people. Both Teddy and I lay on the beach on our towels and soaked up the sun. We engaged in some light conversation about anything and everything that had nothing to do with Joanne. It was good. It felt good. For just one second, I was myself again.

When we started to feel the heat, Teddy and I decided to take a quick swim in the water. I remember the water being cold, but refreshing. After we felt like we had cooled down enough, we made our way out of the water and back to our towels to lay in the sun and cool off. I sat down on my towel and grabbed another one to just quickly dry up a little so that I could put more sunblock on. Grabbing the bottle and squeezing a little into my hands, I started to rub it into my arms, as I looked out onto the stretch of beach.

That's when I saw her. Everything was at a standstill for me. Like time had slowed down and everything was moving in slow motion. Out down by the water I saw the most beautiful woman dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top running along the stretch of the shoreline. By some unknown and incomprehensible force, her and I had made eye contact. She smiled at me and went on her way.

"Who is that?" I asked, more to myself than anyone. Teddy sprung up from her laying position and looked to me.

"Who?" She asked.

"Her, over there. She's breathtakingly stunning. And a killer smile." I said. I was totally taken by this woman and I had no idea who she was. It was the first time I had ever seen her.

"Oh, that's Dr. Torres. Callie. She's an attending surgeon in Orthopedics at the hospital." Teddy responded to me, before laying back down.

Callie Torres had me transfixed. She was beautiful. Breathtakingly stunning. Her dark, black hair and her curvy figure. This woman was fit, but voluptuous all at once. I hadn't even spoken to her and this woman had me in a tizzy for a moment. But, for just a moment. After she disappeared from my sight, waves of guilt and sadness came over me.

Joanne was gone, but I was still in love with her and I felt guilty for having a moment where I felt an attraction to a total stranger.

I pushed the brunette to the back of my mind and lay down on my towel for the rest of the morning. Around noon, Teddy and I decided to pack up and go have a nice lunch before she dropped me off back at my apartment for the rest of the afternoon.

That day at the beach, that day with Teddy made me forget everything for just a little while. It helped to just push my emotions aside and not feel, but the second I walked back into my apartment and was alone. Completely and utterly alone, the emotions over filled me again. There I was. Pining over a dead lover, even though for the last months that she was alive, I was no longer her lover.

The rest of that evening, I sat in my apartment. Alone. Watching some show that I can't even recall. I had had a great day. I was happy that day. I was happy but yet it was a façade. It was masking the real emotions that I felt. Emotions that I couldn't shake. I was depressed, and I didn't know if I would ever recover.

The next morning, I went about my daily routine. I got out of bed, took a shower, got dressed in office appropriate attire, grabbed my files and laptop, placing them in my bag. As I do everyday, I slung the bag over my shoulder and made my way out of my apartment and drove down to the coffee shop that I stop at on my way to work.

I stood in line waiting, very much deep in thought, when for some reason I felt compelled to look over my shoulder. My heart stopped for a second. The woman from the beach. Callie, I remembered Teddy saying her name was, was standing right behind me. She noticed that I had looked to her and she smiled at me. It was the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. Feeling my face blush a little, I smiled back and returned to facing the front so that she wouldn't see the embarrassment on my face. After getting my order I turned and made my way for the door, smiling at her as I past her by.

That very same day, I texted Teddy to see if she would meet for lunch. She texted back saying that she would be ready to go for lunch at around one. So once one o'clock came around, I made my way to the hospital to have lunch with my friend. Because Teddy worked at the hospital and I often would meet her there, I got to know the hospital like the back of my hand. I couldn't find her anywhere so I had made my way up to the third floor of the hospital, I finally found her standing at the nurses station and together we started to make our way down the hallway.

"You're a hard woman to find sometimes, you know?" I said. It took me nearly twenty minutes to find her and I was starving. She just laughed and went on about how because she's the head of cardio, everyone is always after her for consults or she's in surgery.

As we continued our way down the hallway, I heard someone running up behind us. The second I heard this person open their mouth….I turned around and my face went flush again.

"Hey, Dr. Altman, do you have a minute to do a quick consult? I have a post op patient who is complaining of shortness of breath."

I looked to the woman and she immediately smiled at me. I smiled back and then I saw her extend her hand out to take mine. "We seem to be running into each other everywhere, I'm Callie."

Taking hold of her hand, I tried to build up the strength to respond without sounding like a blubbering idiot. Nervously giggling I said "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Arizona. Teddy's friend. I see that you need Teddy for a moment so I will just head downstairs. I'll meet you in the cafeteria, Teddy."

I let go of Callie's hand and continued on down the hallway. Then mere feet away from Callie and Teddy, I stopped. Looking to my right, I saw the room. The empty patient room. It was the same room that I watched Joanne slip away in. Looking into it, though it was empty I could almost see, almost relive the events that happened that night. The feelings became too overwhelming to handle. I ran as quickly as I could to the hospital chapel.

I'm not a very religious person. But I knew that the chapel was a safe place. A place where I could be alone. A place that would in some unknown and unexplainable way bring me some peace.

Every day, I felt like the living dead. Being near Callie or being with Teddy would almost make me feel like I was back to my normal self, but it didn't seem to change the fact that I felt dead inside. Everything around me seemed to make me think of Joanne.

"Hey. You okay? I saw you bolt pretty quickly" I heard. I turned around from where I was sitting and saw Callie standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, it's just umm….uhh….my girlfriend, or well my ex-girlfriend, she died up on that floor. Just seeing the room…." I was so choked up with emotions and tears that I could barely speak. Not to mention that despite the fact that I was an emotional wreck, this woman was still able to make me nervous.

"Hey, don't worry. You don't have to say any more. I'm sorry for your loss. You clearly really loved her."

"I did. I'm sorry, I'm such a mess."

"No, no, no. Don't be sorry. I know that it's really none of my business, and we don't really know each other but may I suggest something?" She asked me as she approached me. She stopped just beside where I was sitting and looked down to me.

"Umm, sure I guess." I responded. I was intrigued but confused at what was possibly going to come out of her pretty mouth.

"Tomorrow is my day off and I was planning on taking a little road trip to this cute little town. It's small and there's some cute little shops. It's away from all the hustle and bustle. You should come with me." She said to me with a smile.

It was a sweet gesture and that smile just made me melt. But I couldn't believe that a stranger, someone who I had just met was asking me to come out and spend a day with her. "That's really sweet, but I can't. I have work to take care of."

"From what Teddy has told me, you work too much. This could be good, you know? To have a little fun."

"I barely know you."

"Well, what better way to get to know each other than to spend the day together. Hang out."

"I appreciate it, really. It's just that, I completely put my life on hold to take care of my ex, and now I have to catch up. I can't…"

"Come on, why not?" She asked me.

"Because, life's in the way. I don't have time."

"Arizona, life isn't in the way of anything here." She said to me with a slight laugh.

"What do you mean?"

"I am offering you some fun. I'm offering you some life."

"Sounds more like you're offering me an adventure as opposed to life" I said smiling back at her.

Then the next thing that she said to me, I will never forget it for as long as I live.

"Life is an adventure."

She smiled back at me and then headed out of the chapel to leave me in peace. Her words repeating themselves over and over. Then I heard one last thing escape her lips before she left the room.

"I'll meet you here tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everyone! Figured I would be nice and treat you to another update. So here it is. Thanks again to everyone for your comments. Keep em coming and enjoy!**

**Funkyshaz! I love you too!LOL I haven't had a chance to review your fic yet...but let me just say LOVE IT!**

Chapter 4

I arrived at the hospital just after nine in the morning. With a coffee in my hand and my purse slung over my shoulder I waited at the desk in the lobby for Callie to pick me up. While I was standing there waiting, my mind was going a mile a minute. What was I doing? Going out and spending the day with someone I just met yesterday. I knew nothing about her except for the fact that she's a doctor, her name is Callie and that she seems to like living a more adventurous life.

Soon enough, Callie showed up with a big grin on her face. "Morning, glad you showed up. I had a feeling you would."

Laughing, I responded. "Well here I am, although I can assure you I have never done this before."

"Done what?"

"Spent the day with a woman I just officially met yesterday."

"Well there's a first time for everything. Trust me, we'll have fun."

She led me to her car, which I may add was badass. A blue vintage thunderbird convertible, the chrome detailing was immaculate. There wasn't a touch of rust. I liked her already but seeing her choice of car made me like her even more. I got myself settled into the passenger seat while Callie took the top down and then got into the driver's seat.

It was such a beautiful day out. The sun was shining and the breeze was lovely. It was warm but not hot. Driving along the road with her, I already felt comfortable with her presence. There was something about Callie that made me feel at ease and for once…not depressed.

There wasn't much talking during the drive out of the busy city. The wind blowing and the sound of the engine would have made it near impossible to engage in conversation but every once in a while I could see out of the corner of my eye that she would look to me, smiling.

This woman was infectious. Every time she would pass a smile my way, I would smile which would make her smile even more and same for myself.

That was pretty much our interaction throughout the drive out to the small town that I was being whisked away to for the day. She'd smile at me, I'd smile at her. The radio would be playing. It was comfortable silence. In fact it was more than comfortable. It was indescribable because she was making me feel things in that silence that I hadn't felt in a long time. It was a little scary to me because again, we had just met. I didn't really know anything about her. But that day, I was going to find out.

The town she took me to, she was right. It was cute and small and peaceful. So simple. Cute little boutiques lined the main street. Restaurants had sidewalk patios. I had a feeling that today was going to be a great day.

Callie parked the car on the street and we started to walk along the sidewalk. We would stop at any of the stores that we felt like looking in. All while engaging in light conversation about who we were. Nothing too drawn out. It was just the lighter stuff. Favorite music, colours, foods. That kind of stuff.

"So, do you and Teddy work together often?" I asked. I was genuinely curious. Teddy never really told me much about their relationship. Whether it was strictly professional or if they were friends. Nothing.

"Umm well I specialize in Orthopedics so we don't work on the same cases often, but we always hang out at lunch. Unless you come to visit that is. It's great to finally meet the person who used to snatch her away from us all the time." She said to me with a smile.

I couldn't help but smile back. She was absolutely beautiful when she smiled.

We continued to shop and poke along the street until we both started to feel hungry. We decided to stop by this grill and sit out on their patio for lunch. Once we were settled at our table and we had ordered our food, the real conversation started.

"So, Callie tell me something. What made you decide to be a doctor?" I asked her, as I sat back into the backrest of my chair.

"Hmm, well, after I finished college, I joined the Peace Corps. I ended up spending my time with them helping people in Botswana and through that I found that medicine was where I wanted to go. I saw so many people suffering from Polio and all sorts of stuff and I didn't have the skills, education or training to help them. So I enrolled in Med school and never looked back. I love what I do."

I smiled at her. Her face was so animated when she spoke about her experiences, and her decision to become a doctor. I could see that she was passionate about what she does.

"What about you? Why law?" She asked me.

"Well, I don't really have an all out fantastic story like yours. To tell you the truth, I can't even tell you why. Don't get me wrong I love what I do, It's just there really wasn't anything I went through that helped me choose. It was just a feeling. A feeling that I wanted to help people in some way."

A silence fell over us. It wasn't uncomfortable or odd. It was nice. We simply sat at the table making glances out onto the street and then back at each other. It was crazy. I woke up that morning preparing myself for a very awkward day, but instead I was really enjoying myself and the silent flirting made it all that much better.

Our food finally arrived and the conversation became a lot lighter. "So, Callie I saw you running on the beach the other day. Do you do that often?"

"I try to. I squeeze in a run any chance I get in a day. Generally I try to make it out everyday but being a surgeon doesn't always allow that. But on average I go running 4 to 5 days a week. What about you? Do you run?" She asked me taking a sip of water from her glass.

"I used to. I kind of just stopped, with Joanne being sick and all."

"Yeah, I understand that. Having to take care of someone when they're sick, really takes up a lot of your time. My father had a heart attack last year. I flew back home for a month to take care of him, my mom wouldn't have been able to do it alone."

"Yeah."

"Hey, you should come running with me sometime. It's a great way to clear your head when you're frustrated or whatever." She said to me.

"Oh, I dunno…."

"Come on, why not?"

"I have work to catch up on. I missed a lot while I was gone."

"One hour a day, won't do you any harm. Trust me, once you get into it. You'll love it." She said to me smiling. I could see with her eyes, she was really trying to convince me and it was working.

"Okay, fine. I will come running with you sometime." I smiled back at her. "On one condition."

"What's that?" She asked. Confusion spread across her face in mere seconds.

"You tell me what Callie is short for."

"Oh boy…. Did Teddy put you up to that question?" She asked me.

"No. I'm honestly curious. It's not a name you hear everyday."

"Neither is Arizona." She said smirking at me.

She had me there. Arizona is an unusual name. Never met anyone else with that name. "Touche"

Taking another sip from her glass she was laughing. Her laugh was the most beautiful thing to hear from her. I could tell she was a free spirit. I admired that about her. "It's short for Calliope. But only my dad calls me that."

"Calliope. I like it."

"Funny, I strangely enough like it when you say it."

The rest of the afternoon was absolutely perfect. We continued to walk along the street, going into a few more stores until we felt ready to head back to the city. The drive back again was silent. But it was a comfortable silence. At one point I think I even fell asleep in the car. If I did, Callie never said anything or teased me about it, which I was eternally grateful that she didn't.

I directed her to where my apartment was and she pulled up to the curb outside. We exchanged phone numbers and then I went inside and up to my apartment.

I will never forget that day. That was the first day since Joanne's death that I actually genuinely had a good day. I wasn't upset, and I didn't feel depressed. I actually felt happy. Happy for the first time since I don't even know when.

I had had such a good time that like a giddy fool, I texted my new found friend even though I had just spent the entire day with her.

_Hey…just wondering when I could take you up on your offer to go for that run?_

_-Arizona_

_LOL Hey, how does Friday sound? Friday morning? You working? I can do Friday night._

_-Callie_

_Friday morning is perfect. I will just go into the office later. See you Friday!_

_Yep, see you then._

I put my phone away and went to the kitchen to make myself a little something for dinner. Thoughts of my day with Callie filling my mind. I didn't want to admit it then, but I had no doubt that Callie Torres was going to change my life forever.


	5. Author's Comment

Hey everyone,

Sorry, but this is not an update. I am posting this just to say my peace and then that will be the only time I say something.

I got a rather nasty comment on today's update. This person more or less told me to quit while I was ahead… "by ahead I mean before we all vomit."

Look, I understand that not everyone is going to like what I write and that is okay. But pure and simply put, if you don't like it…don't read it. There is no need for you to tell me how it makes you "vomit." That is just plain disrespectful.

I'm not a professional writer…it's not what I do. I do this for the pure fun of it and I had to build up quite a bit of courage to put myself out there and post some stories not knowing what I was getting into or what the outcome was going to be. But through my year doing this, I have met people who have been nothing but supportive of my stuff and for that I thank you all. You are the people who make me want to continue doing this.

But for those of you who seem to find enjoyment in being crude and nasty, it's discouraging. Not to mention it is completely unnecessary. Everyone has a right to an opinion, I understand that. But there is no need to try and knock me down.

Sadly for this person, I am going to continue to write this story as it has far more supporters than haters.

Sorry everyone about the rant, I promise to have an update as soon as I can.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey everyone! I am so sorry on the delay of this update. I have been completely swamped. I've got work stuff and police stuff going on so I could only write a little bit at a time. But It's finally here and hopefully the updates can be more consistent. Just wanted to thank you all who sent me messages of encouragement over that one nasty comment I got from an anonymous person. I was just mad that day because I encounter this every site I go to...and I had to just say my peace. So thank you all! and I hope you enjoy!**

**Much love always, **

**hASHbrown**

Chapter 5

After messaging Callie, the first thing that immediately came to me was that I had to call Teddy.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Teddy."

"Arizona, hey. How was your day with Callie?"

"Honestly, Teddy it was fantastic. I really needed it. It was so great to just get away from the city. Callie is awesome. How come you never told me how great your friends at work are?"

"I don't know. It never really occurred to me that you wanted to get to know my work friends. I don't even know your friends from work." She said to me while I could hear her chuckling in the background.

"Well either way, Callie is totally awesome. In fact she invited me to go running with her Friday morning." I said matter of factly.

"And you said yes? How is that I try to get you to do things with me, to have a little fun and you simply won't or you just give in to humor me but then Callie Torres asks you and you jump at the offer without hesitation?"

"I don't know Teddy. I really don't. There's just something about her that makes me feel at ease. It's like in someway she knows exactly how I am feeling."

That was the honest truth. I had no idea why I felt the way I felt when I was with Callie but she just had this way about her. She made me feel nervous because there was no denying that she was absolutely gorgeous and her voice was undeniably sexy but it was just too soon to even consider a romantic connection with her. Yet as nervous as she made me, she also made me feel at peace. I felt comfortable when I was around her. All of my feelings seem to dissolve in her presence and I was able to be myself.

I soon after ended my conversation with Teddy and decided to take a shower before climbing into bed and going to sleep.

The next few days, I really dove into work. I had meetings with several of my clients over the course of two days. One of the downfalls of the law firm I worked for was that we were so large that cases tended to overlap. Court dates were mere days or just mere hours apart from each other. I enjoy what I do, don't get me wrong. It would just be nice if it could slow down just a little. Instead there I was juggling several cases at once, drowning in a desk full of paperwork.

Thursday afternoon, I managed to have a gap in my day which I decided to use to grab lunch. I hadn't really talked to Teddy since the night I called her after my day out with Callie so I texted her saying that I was coming to the hospital for lunch. She soon after texted me back saying that she would be in the cafeteria with some of the other doctors, and that I could join when I got there. I grabbed my purse and headed out to my car to make the drive to the hospital.

The car ride over, I was hoping that Callie would be there. At least it would be one of Teddy's friends that I knew and would be comfortable sitting with.

When I walked into the hospital cafeteria, it was like I scene I had scene time and time again. Other doctors, nurses, patients and their families, spread all over the room. Some were in line for whatever the cafeteria lady was cooking, some sitting at tables enjoying their time.

I spotted Teddy and her friends, and released my breath when I noticed that Callie was sitting at the table too. I felt more at ease now that I knew it wouldn't be too awkward.

I never sat with Teddy and the other doctors before. If we ate together, we'd usually go somewhere so that it was just us. Just two best gal pals chatting it up and eating lunch together.

I made my way towards the table, and Teddy stood up pulling over a chair for me to join. "Hey everyone, this is Arizona. Arizona this is Mark, Owen and of course you know Callie." Teddy said as I sat down.

I listened as Teddy, Owen, Mark and Callie discussed some of their cases and their complaints about residence and interns. Noticing that I had kind of drowned them out and went inside my own head, Callie changed the subject and engaged in a conversation with me.

"So, Arizona you still coming tomorrow morning for that run?" She asked me as she passed a wink my way.

I smiled back as a thank you for making the conversation more inclusive for me. "Yes, definitely. I wouldn't miss it."

"Great. I think you'll enjoy it."

"I think so too."

After lunch, I had a little while longer before I had to go back to the office, Teddy had to rush off to a surgery so I walked along the hallways with Callie just making some simple conversation.

"Thank you for changing the subject at lunch today. I had no idea what you guys were talking about for the longest time." I said with a laugh. All that doctor jargon, I just didn't have a clue what anyone was talking about.

"Don't mention it. I could see you were a bit lost there and it was kind of rude for us not to include you."

We smiled at each other and continued to walk down the hallway till we stopped at a nurses station. Just then, her pager went off. She grabbed it and looked to me with an apologetic face.

"Sorry, it's 911 I have to go, but I will see you tomorrow?"

"Definitely." I responded she smiled to me and then ran off to wherever it was she was being paged to.

I headed back to the office and continued on working on my cases and discussing details with the clients for the rest of the day.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone going off. It was still dark outside and I quickly jumped out of my bed cursing at who could possibly be trying to get in touch with me at…..six o'clock in the morning.

I grabbed my phone, and all of my anger dissolved when I saw that it was Callie. And then I remembered. Today we were going for a run in the early morning before we had to go to work. I messaged her right back saying that I would be ready in fifteen minutes. I then dashed into my closet and put on the first items of clothing I saw that would be work out appropriate. Putting on a plain crew neck tshirt and a pair of yoga pants, I sat at the foot of my bed and put my runners on. Once I was ready, I messaged Callie and she replied saying that she was already down in the lobby of my building.

I made my way down and she greeted me with a hug and a smile. It kind of threw me off guard a little. We had never hugged each other before, but surprisingly…well no surprise really, it felt wonderful.

"Hey, you ready?" she asked me when she pulled away from our embrace.

"Yeah, I am. Thanks for waking me up, I almost forgot and I probably would have still been in bed now."

"No, problem. Come on, I mapped out the perfect route." She said to me, holding the door open so that I could walk outside.

We started to run, not too fast but at a decent pace. The sky continued to be dark for the most part and we barely spoke a word to each other. I didn't mind though. It gets a little hard to carry on a conversation when you're running and your throat gets all dry.

It was great just to have her as company. To have her by my side and just her being there encouraged me every step of the way to push through and keep going.

Somewhere along the way, we ended up running down on the shoreline of the beach. It was quiet and the sky was just starting to brighten up along the horizon. The light reflecting in the water and the sound of the waves crashing was absolutely beautiful. It was a soothing sound. It really just made you feel as if you were one with the universe.

We kept running along the shore line for awhile till we had had enough and we decided to sit on the beach and look out into the water. We sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. In the beginning I didn't even mind and then in an instant I found myself silently crying as I stared out into the sea.

Callie must have heard me whimper in sadness or something because before I knew it she had pulled me into her embrace and just rocked me back and forth like you would to soothe a baby.

"Shh….it's okay. What's wrong? You can tell me." She said continuing her rocking motion.

"It's just, why? Why did she have to completely break my heart and leave me here. She died right before my eyes. I loved her so much, that's why I just don't understand. Why this world…why the universe is so screwed up. Why life is full of pain and heartache."

Callie pulled me away and looked deep into my eyes as she took her thumb and brushed the falling tears from my cheeks. "Hey, I know that what you went through was incredibly sad and painful and terrifying. And I know that this world does have a lot of pain and heartache and all that crappy stuff. But it is also full of joy, and beauty and love. Many different kinds and levels of love and happiness. I can't speak for Joanne, I didn't know her. But, if it were me looking down on you from wherever it is, I wouldn't want you to be shut off from the world. I'd want you to live. I'd want you to live and take in all the wonderful things this life has to offer. I would want you to live."

I collapsed into her arms as the tears came down even harder. I held on tight to her shirt and she just wrapped her arms around me and held me tight while I cried. "I'm such a mess, why me? Why choose to befriend me of all people?" I asked with a slight giggle, the tears still coming down pretty hard.

"Because I saw a look in your eyes that I recognized. You looked as empty as I felt not too long before I met you. But that's an entirely different story."

"Well thank you. For everything. My gosh, look at me I'm a mess in front of you, again." I said pulling away trying to wipe the tear stains from my face.

"Arizona, don't be silly, you're beautiful."

I was already thankful that she came into my life. She seemed to get me better than anyone and for the first time, just letting it all out, I felt like a weight had been taken off my shoulders. I felt the pain and guilt ease a little.

Callie smiled to me and pulled me close to her with one arm and we sat there in the sand in silence and watched the sun rise into the sky.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey everyone! So, I am back with another update. FINALLY! :) Hope everyone is enjoying reading this one as I am writing it. I'm doing my best to have updates within a reasonable amount of time. It's just a matter of time management, as I am so busy with so many things. Two jobs, studying for police exams and volunteer work on top of that...doesn't leave me much time. I've also started writing another fic. And for those of you who remember that I have a sequel to Till Death Do Us Part...I haven't forgotten about that. I do have a completed sequel I just have to separate the chapters into separate documents. But I will have that up for you all as soon as I can. Thanks again everyone! and Happy Reading!**

**xox hASHbrown**

Chapter 6

It's safe to say that Callie Torres quickly became an important person in my life. Other than Teddy, she was probably the most important. On more than one occasion she managed to pull me out of the dark hole I was tumbling down. Somehow, she spoke to me as if she knew what I was going through. Like she had been there before. More than once, she had made a mention about something that happened to her before she met me, but it never went any further than a quick hint. To say I wasn't curious would be a complete and utter lie. I was completely intrigued. I wanted to know what she went through, but I thought it would be best to just leave well enough alone and let her tell me in her own time. It was the least I could do seeing as how she waited patiently for me to tell her about Joanne. It wasn't until later on in the morning that I finally told her how Joanne died, and the look she gave me was a look I had been longing for, for months. She never once looked at me with pity or sympathy in her eyes. She looked at me with pure empathy and understanding.

Callie made me feel things that I had been longing to feel for a long time since Joanne passed. She made me feel like I was worth something, like I mattered. She was starting to make feel the joy again. Her and I could talk for hours. I often found myself most nights on the phone with her after work talking about our day and getting to know each other even more. She'd tell me about her adventures and all the things she does in her spare time. This woman was completely blowing me away. It was amazing to me how she didn't take a single thing in life, not one moment for granted. Whenever an opportunity came her way she snatched it up, not wanting to miss out on it. I came to admire her for it and couldn't help but be drawn to her.

One day, maybe a week after my crying on the beach scene, I walked into her office up on the orthopedics ward at St. Ambrose and tapped on the door lightly as I stood in the doorway watching her as she appeared to be totally invested in the files on her desk.

"Hey, you." I said to her with a gentle smile.

She smiled back to me "Hey, yourself. What are you up to? Not at work today?"

"No, it's my day off today. I just decided to come by and see if maybe you wanted to get some lunch?" I asked as I walked into her office. I stopped just a mere few feet from the side of her desk smiling, with my hands behind my back.

"I wish I could, but I have to do a hip replacement in an hour and I have been swamped all day between supervising residents in the OR and my cartilage research."

"Not to worry..." I pulled my hands out from behind my back and revealed a brown paper bag "...I brought us some lunch and we can eat it right here and you can tell me all about this cartilage research of yours."

She laughed and smiled at me once again. "Thank you. I am starving." she cleared her desk placing her files on the floor in a pile. I sat down in one of the chairs across from her and placed the food on the desk and we immediately dug right in.

"So Calliope, tell me about this cartilage research. What exactly is it that you are doing?"

"Well, me being the rockstar that I am, am trying to create cartilage from scratch."

"Really? And how's that going? Had any success?"

"Well I've made progress but I still can't get the formula right. But if I can figure it out, I'll be able to advance orthopedic medicine to a new level."

It was amazing how lit up she became when she talked about things she was passionate about. I had no doubt she was definitely the kind of person that I should be hanging around. She was a free spirit and truly inspiring.

Before I knew it, Callie looked the the clock on the wall and jumped out of her seat. "crap, I gotta go scrub in. Thank you so much for the lunch. We'll chat later?" she asked as she threw off her lab coat and made a dash for the door. She stopped just at the doorway and turned around with a questioning look. "You free, at all this week? Other than today obviously."

"Umm, I'm free Saturday, why?" I asked. I kind of thought she was going to ask me to go on another crazy adventure but what she ended up asking me took me by surprise.

"I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner."

"I would love to." I responded. I smiled back to her. She reciprocated and smiled even wider at me.

"Great. I'll talk to you later." And just like that she ran out of her office and down to go to surgery.

I sat alone in her office pondering at what just happened. I was excited to have dinner with her but at the same time I was a little confused as to what kind of dinner it was. Was it supposed to be a date? Was it just two friends having dinner together? Truth be told I knew that in some way, I wished it was a date but my head was telling me that it was too soon. That I wasn't ready to date anyone.

Saturday came really quickly, and sure enough there I was in my bedroom rummaging through my closet trying to figure out what I was going to wear. Callie had called me the day before asking if we could eat at this fairly new restaurant that opened downtown. When I said yes, I could hear her excitement over the phone. Her excitement got me excited and then she went on to tell me that it wasn't too fancy and to dress nice but comfortably.

So there I was grabbing almost anything and everything out of my closet trying to figure out what was the right combination of dressy but casual. I settled for a summer dress and I brought I light shrug incase it got chilly.

As expected Callie showed up right on time at 7pm just as I was finishing my makeup. I swiftly made my way to the door and the sight before me made me blush like a tomato I'm sure of it. She looked absolutely beautiful dressed in a very simple yet elegant in a casual way, red dress.

"Hey, you just about ready to go?" She asked me as she smiled. I smiled back praying that she did not notice my blushing face.

"Yeah, I'm just going to grab my purse and then we can go." I gestured for her to step inside to wait while I went to get my bag.

Callie had brought me to this very quaint restaurant that sat right by the water. We were seated out on their patio overlooking the ocean. It was incredibly serene. The sound of the waves crashing and the tea lights on the table, if I didn't know any better I would have thought this was a date. In fact that's exactly what I thought her intentions were.

After the waiter had brought our drinks, I took a long gulp before placing the glass back on the table and opening my mouth to speak.

"I don't mean to sound blunt but, it's just that this, this scenery is beautiful and rather romantic. I just….I have to ask, if your intentions were for this to be a date." I said to her.

She just smiled at me and responded, "Arizona, I have no motives, here. I just wanted to go out with a friend and enjoy a nice dinner and, fantastic conversation."

The rest of the dinner went smoothly. We enjoyed each other's company and ate and enjoyed easy conversation that lasted the entire night.

After dinner, Callie took me home and we said our goodbyes before I headed back to my apartment. The second I walked inside, the phone began to ring. I made my way to the phone sitting on my living room coffee table, picked it up and looked at the caller ID. Sure enough it was Teddy calling.

"Hi Teddy."

"So, how was the date?" She asked me. I could hear the excitement and anticipation in her voice, waiting for me to respond.

"It was not a date, Teddy. It was just two friends going out for dinner."

"Oh, come on. Arizona, you've done nothing but get all excited and you blush as red as a fire hydrant everytime she walks in a room. You like her. And I for one think you should go for it. She's the first person you've been attracted to since Joanne."

"I know, but….it's too soon." I said, but was quickly cut off by Teddy's determined tone.

"It's been like what? Six months already? I know the wounds are still fresh, and the pain isn't going to go away, but Arizona…I have seen you change since you've met her. Callie is a cool girl, and I think she's good for you. If I were you I'd ask her to go out again, and this time make your feelings known."

"I will think about it, Teddy. But for now, I am hanging up the phone and going to bed. Goodnight, Teddy."

"Fine, goodnight Arizona."

I hung up the phone and headed to the bedroom. After washing my face and putting on my pajamas, I crawled into bed and turned the lights out. For what felt like forever, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling thinking long and hard about what Teddy had told me. Fact was that I knew she was right. I was very much attracted to Callie. She was gorgeous, and funny and so easy to talk to and was a lot of fun to be around. I couldn't help but wonder if it was too soon to pursue something more with her. I couldn't tell you the last time I had taken a risk. Taken a chance on anything. Getting up out of bed, I scrambled around the room to find my purse. Grabbing my phone, I thought of Callie and how she made me feel and decided that enough was enough. I was done living outside of my body and done being depressed over Joanne. I wanted to be happy and hoped that Joanne would be happy for me, so I sent out a text to Callie asking if she'd go out to dinner with me again some time.

Shortly after, she texted me back saying that she'd love to. I was over the moon. I had set a date to go for dinner with her, and then jumped back into bed. It was a start. I had finally taken charge of my life and made the decision to be happy and whole, and to hopefully be happy and whole with Callie.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey everyone! I am back with an update. So here is the next part. The story goes for an interesting twist after this, so hope you enjoy and sit tight...One Summer is a journey! **

Chapter 7

It was two weeks since I had asked Callie to come out to dinner again. Both of our schedules were pretty hectic. I had court dates to attend to represent my clients and Callie was working on a special case that had come in. But the day had finally come and to say I was nervous would be a huge understatement. I was scared out of my wits. It would be my first date with a woman since Joanne, and the entire day I was nervous. I spent the day at the office, going through the final paperwork on some of the cases I had closed up and continuing to go through the paperwork and checking for every loophole I could find for cases that were still open. Working helped me get through the day. It helped me to focus my energy away from my nerves and on something constructive.

Teddy had a day off from the hospital so she swung by my office to hang out for awhile.

"So tonight's the night huh?" Teddy asked me leaning back in her chair.

I let out a breathe and nodded. "Yeah. Tonight's the night."

"Are you nervous?"

"Extremely nervous, that's why I'm here at work...trying to focus on something other than tonight for a little bit."

Teddy smiled to me and leaned in a little, with her elbows propped on the edge of my desk. "There's no need to be nervous. Everything will be fine."

"Will it? Will it really? Because, at this point she doesn't know that my intention is for tonight to be a date. In fact should it be a date, because I have no idea if she likes me the way I like her."

"Oh, she likes you." Teddy said with a smirk.

"What? How do you know that?"

"Arizona, I work with her. And we're kinda friends. Don't think I don't notice things. Anytime you come for lunch, whenever you leave she totally scans you down from head to toe. And, I never told you this but, a month ago, the day you met her, after she talked to you she totally blurted out how 'cute' you are. She likes you. "

I couldn't help but smile. This made me feel better. Made me feel like I stood a chance tonight. "Why hasn't she said anything to me or if she thinks I'm s cute, why hasn't she made a move yet?"

"Because she didn't want to push you. You've been grieving and moping around for a dead ex-girlfriend. I mean yeah she was your first serious relationship and you loved her even though you two had broken up, but it's time to move on. You're always going to love Joanne and the pain isn't going to completely go away. You have a chance tonight to start something good so don't be nervous. Just run with it."

I smiled to Teddy and nodded, acknowledging that she was right. Teddy was not one to give speeches, but I have to say that that was a pretty damn good speech.

After that, the day passed by quickly and before I knew it, I was standing outside of Callie's apartment. I knocked on the door and was greeted by Callie looking absolutely stunning in a simple black dress. I smiled to her and she smiled back.

"Ready to go?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'm ready. I have to say...I know that we're friends but I was kind of surprised that you asked me to go to dinner with you. Not that you aren't allowed to ask me to dinner...it's just that since we've met I'm the one who initiates meeting up or doing something or whatever. And I blab like an idiot when I'm trying to explain myself to a beautiful woman." She said to me. For once I noticed her blush a little and that alone was a sign that maybe this would work.

"Did you just say I'm beautiful?" I asked with a smirk.

"Yes, I believe I did. It's true you are. I'm allowed to say that, right?"

Laughing I stepped aside to let her come through the doorway and into the hallway. "Yes, you are. And I think you're beautiful too. Relax. It's just dinner." She said I was beautiful. That just made my heart almost leap right out of my chest.

Dinner went as well as expected the conversation flowed easily and we were having a great time. I took her to this fabulous restaurant where there was a little jazz band playing while we ate. The whole time I can remember having butterflies in my stomach. I was so excited and nervous inside that it took all of my strength to keep myself together.

"This is a gorgeous restaurant. I've lived here for quite awhile and yet I've never been here before." She said as she finished the last sip of wine from her glass.

"Well, then I'm glad I picked this place." I responded taking a rather deep breathe trying to keep my nerves intact. "Want to come back to my place for some more wine or coffee?" I asked.

Her smile only grew wider, which makes me melt every time. "I'd love to."

After picking up the bill, we walked out to my car where I then drove us back to my apartment. I showed her inside and let her wander around before she settled onto my couch. I had gone to the kitchen and came into the living room with a bottle of white and red wine and two glasses.

Settling on the couch next to her, I poured her and myself a glass and we toasted to a fun night. We laughed the whole evening at hospital stories any mishaps that we endured, poked fun at Teddy a couple times. Before I knew it, it was already nearly one in the morning.

"I'm really happy that you are doing better. You seem happier and I just want you to know that it looks good on you. Really good." She said to me. I couldn't help but smile to that. Because it was her. She was the one who made me feel better. She was the reason my heart was pounding in my chest at that moment.

"Thank you. I feel better. I feel better because of you. You have been the one person who never once looked at me with pity or anything. You've been my rock and I can't thank you enough."

"There's no need to thank me, Arizona..." She said smiling to me as she placed her hand on my thigh just above my knee. "...my goodness, it's after one. I have to get going. Can I borrow you're phone to call a cab?"

"No, don't be silly, I will drive you home." I said to her. I didn't want her to leave just yet. I was still waiting for my moment.

"Arizona, I don't think you're in any state to drive me home. I'll call a cab. Really it's okay."

I had to agree, there was no way I could take her home. I wasn't drunk but I definitely had more than I should have. So I walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed the phone and handed it to Callie.

Every single second that she was on the phone, my heart was pounding harder and harder. It was now or never. If I was going to take a risk, take a chance it had to be the second she got off the phone. I silently prayed to Joanne in my head, hoping that she'd somehow, supernaturally or whatever that crap is help me out to make this go off without a hitch. I saw Callie put the phone down and head back towards me. I immediately stood up to meet her.

"Says a cab should be here in about fifteen minutes."

I nodded silently. My face was definitely red and it felt like it was on fire, which didn't go unnoticed by Callie. "You, okay? You're face is beet red."

I stepped a little closer, invading her personal space a little. "This is going to sound a little odd, maybe but I don't really care. From the second I saw you out on the beach, I've been attracted to you. And the more we've gotten to know each other, the more attracted I've become. But I was grieving over Joanne and used that as an excuse not to be happy or to move on with my life. But I can't take it anymore and..." I too a deep breathe and looked her deep in the eyes. "...in like three seconds, I'm going to kiss you and if you don't want me to..well, you will have to push me away."

She looked back at me and I saw her throat hitch a little. She was breathing heavily and I noticed her look down to my lips. Silently counting in my head, I moved in closer. Before I knew what was happening, I had closed the gap completely and placed a soft kiss to her lips. It was gentle and sincere and it blew me away how great it felt. I slowly pulled away and looked into her beautiful eyes. "I think I'm falling in love with you, Callie."

She took a breathe and looked back at me. "It's not a good idea to fall in love with me."

"Too late." I responded before pulling her back in to my lips.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey everyone! Okay, So I got some good reviews from some of you guys. And a lot of you asked the question as to why Callie said that it wasn't a good idea to fall in love with her. Well, if you go back to the first chapter, in the summary you will notice that I mentioned Callie is carrying a secret. So her comment in the last chapter was about bringing up intrigue and setting the story up for the secret to be revealed. Anyway, here is the next chapter and again I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks again everyone for the positive feedback! :)**

**xox~ hASHbrown**

Chapter 8

"Teddy, It's Arizona." I said into the phone. After Callie had left for the night, I went to bed with the hugest smile on my face. I hadn't felt this way in god knows how long. It felt amazing and for the first time in a long time, I felt...I felt alive. So there I was the next morning calling Teddy to fill her in on the night before.

"I know. I do have caller ID. But what I don't know is why you are calling me at...eight in the morning. It's my day off and I want to catch up on sleep" I heard her answer, with a sluggish tone.

"I'm calling, to tell you about last night...with Callie."

"Oh, well then I take back what I said. Tell me all the details." I could hear her perk right up once I told her I wanted to talk about Callie.

"Well, I took a chance that's for sure..."

"And?"

"And it was amazing. I kissed her last night. I don't really know how it happened, I just walked right up to her and kissed her."

"And I'm guessing that she kissed you back, right?"

"Yeah. I also may have told her that I was falling for her." I said into the phone with a deep nervous breathe. I was preparing myself for what Teddy might say. Maybe it had been too soon to tell Callie that I was falling for her. But I had already said it and there was no turning back.

"You...wow. Way to go. When you said you took a chance, you really meant you took a chance."

"Yeah, but she responded very strangely."

"What do you mean? What did she say?"

"She said that it probably wasn't a good idea to fall in love with her. Like what does that even mean?" I asked. It was the one thing that was confusing the crap out of me. It didn't change the fact that I was over the moon about kissing her. After she said that, she kissed me back. So as happy as I was, I was still very confused about what all of this meant for me and Callie.

"Well, she's had bad luck with love, and she's kind of developed a complex. She tends to get scared when she falls for someone because anyone she's ever loved has left her. That's most likely all it is."

I had no idea about Callie's past relationships. I never asked because I knew that it wasn't any of my business. Talking to Teddy really helped me get over the slight worry in the pit of my stomach. Callie said what she said because she was afraid to let anyone in on a romantic level, because up until then, her and I were only friends. But, I made it to this point. I kissed her and she kissed me back. It was clear as day that I liked her and she liked me just as much. So I wasn't going to give up.

Two weeks later...

Within two weeks of kissing Callie in my apartment, I felt the most alive than I had in forever. Callie and I had gone on a couple more dates and any chance we had we'd meet up and talk or hang out. We were having fun, and it felt amazing.

So, two weeks later I found myself pushed against the door of Callie's office. Hands wildly exploring each other's bodies over our clothes as she kissed me fiercely. She felt amazing and she really knew how to handle a woman.

She pulled away slowly, still holding me, and resting her forhead to mine. "Why don't you come to mine tonight. I'll make us a nice dinner, we can cuddle up on the sofa and watch a movie. What do you say?"

I kissed her softly and smiled. She was incredibly sexy and adorable all rolled up into one. "I would love to. What time?"

"Let's say be at mine around seven thirty?"

"I'll be there" I whispered into her mouth. She closed the gap and continued kissing me tenderly.

"Come on, I've got some time, let's grab some lunch." She said to me.

Hand in hand, we walked down the hospital hallway and made our way to the cafeteria. After grabbing something to eat, we walked over and sat down with Teddy, Mark and Owen.

"What the hell did I miss?" Mark asked as he swallowed a piece of the apple he was holding.

"We're dating. Each other. It's been two weeks, Mark. Where the hell have you been?" Callie answered with sarcasm in her voice.

"He's been too busy sleeping with all the nurses." Teddy added.

Everyone at the table laughed. Mark just got annoyed and walked away.

An hour later, we were still sitting in the cafeteria. When I noticed the time, I rose to my feet. "I gotta get going back to work...I will see you tonight." I placed a chaste kiss on Callie's lips and left the doctors in the cafeteria.

Since Callie and I started dating, work became far more enjoyable. In fact everything became more enjoyable and I started to see things in a different light. My life was finally back on track. It was better than I had ever pictured it could be.

After work I went home and decided that I should take a shower and freshen up before I head over to Callie's apartment for dinner. Once I was cleaned up, the trickiest part was deciding what to wear. I looked to the nightstand next to my bed and noticed that I only had forty five minutes to get myself dressed and over to Callie's.

I practically dashed into my closet and starting pulling clothes out. I finally decided to dress casually but still a little dressier. I settled for a pair of tight fitted jeans and a blue top. I quickly applied a little makeup and was out the door in a flash.

I arrived at Callie's apartment soon after and, a little bit of nerves started to kick in. I had no idea why, but she made me nervous and comfortable and...all that stuff.

Almost in an instant after knocking, Callie opened the door and leaned to give me a quick kiss hello, before letting me inside.

"Hey." I said smiling widely.

"Hey. Come sit at the counter. I'm just finishing cooking our dinner." She grabbed my hand and walked me to the kitchen. She pulled out a stool from under the counter top and I sat down and watched Callie work her way around the kitchen.

It was just another thing that blew me away about her. It was another thing about her that just made me fall for her even more. This woman was beautiful on the inside and on the outside. I was falling more in love with her by the second. She was unlike any other woman I had ever been with.

She set up a beautiful table setting for our dinner. With candles in the centre of the table. We ate and enjoyed conversation and light touches across the table. She had cooked me a fabulous dinner, and I enjoyed every bit of it. Not just because she was a fabulous cook but because it was her.

After dinner, we made our way to her living room with a bottle of wine and settled onto the couch. We sat, cuddled up together and watched a movie that was playing on tv. While we were all cozied up together and watching the movie, she would draw circles on my arm with her fingers.

I can't deny that her touch was driving me crazy. And I mean that in the best way possible. I couldn't help but feel the electricity that her touch sent through my entire body. Before I could remember blinking, the movie had ended and she had turned the tv off. She looked to me and smiled, as she took her free hand and caressed my cheek. I smiled back and she leaned in and kissed me. It felt incredible, and my body responded by pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.

It started out soft and slow, and soon became more heated. At one point I felt like I was experiencing it from outside of my body because I found myself pulling myself off the couch and pulling Callie with me. I pulled her back into my lips and was pulling her towards her bedroom.

She followed and once we were inside, she kicked the door, closing it and lifted me into her arms and walked me to her bed. It was pretty soon to in our relationship to be doing this but it felt right, and at that time I didn't care. She sat me on the edge of her bed and pulled my top over my head, throwing it to the floor. Crashing her lips to mine, she pushed me back and climbed on top of me. My senses were in a tizzy and they were going crazy at the scent of her and her body on top of me. I grabbed the base of her shirt and frantically pulled it off, revealing her soft skin and gorgeous body.

In a matter of seconds it felt like, we were both stripped of our clothes and were underneath the sheets of her big warm bed. She felt so good, as she was positioned in between my legs, thrusting her fingers inside my heated core as she kissed and sucked on the pressure point on my neck. Sweat building up in between our bodies as our rhythm picked up pace. She pulled away from my neck and looked me in the eyes. Her eyes were darkened dwith lust and desire. It was by far one of the most sexiest things I had ever seen.

The feeling of having her inside me was driving me insane at how phenomenal and indescribable it felt. My eyes rolling into the back of my head, and my back arching, I felt Callie take my breast into her mouth. I couldn't take it much longer, I felt my walls closing in on her fingers as they continued to pump in and out of me. In the wave of all the emotions I was feeling, I started to feel my orgasm build deep within. I could no longer hold it together and the waves of pleasure coursed through my body like never before. I pulled her face to mine and crashed our lips together hard and I closed my legs holding her fingers inside me as I held her tight letting my body come down slowly from my high.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey everybody! So Hopefully you are all enjoying the story and are intrigued about what is to come. Well brace yourself because a lot is going to happen in this chapter. But Thanks again to those who take the time to comment. You guys are what keep me writing. And for those who don't comment, hope you continue to enjoy reading if you are reading this. Thanks again everyone!**

** xox~hASHbrown**

Chapter 9

I woke up the next morning all snuggled under the bedsheets and noticed that Callie was watching me. I repositioned myself so that I was laying in her nook and she wrapped her arms around me and placed a soft kiss to my forehead. "Good morning" She whispered softly.

"Mmm, good morning. How long have you been watching me?" I asked her. Normally someone watching me I would find creepy but I found her watching me to be incredibly sweet.

"Only for a couple minutes."

"What were you thinking about?" I asked nuzzling my face into her body.

"How beautiful you are. How I'm falling hard for you." She said to me. I looked up into her eyes and she was smiling, which only made me smile even more. She was falling for me just as hard as I was falling for her. It was the best feeling in the world.

"Really?"

"Really. She placed her hand under my chin and pushed her head down to place a gentle kiss on my lips.

"So, does this mean I can call you Calliope now?" I asked her half jokingly. I thought her name was beautiful and felt that a woman that beautiful deserved to be called something equally as beautiful.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. I will let you call me Calliope but only you. No one else. Except for my parents."

We both laughed and she pulled me tighter to her body. She was warm and soft and I could lay with her forever.

"Hey, why don't I make us some breakfast?" She suggested and immediately the sound of breakfast was almost making me drool.

"Sounds, amazing." I kissed her lips and quickly hopped out of the bed. She offered me her robe which I graciously accepted and covered up my naked body with the black satin garment. She put on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, grabbed me by the waist and we walked together out into the kitchen.

After making us a pot of coffee, she started to make eggs and bacon in the frying pan over the stove. The aroma of the greasy food was making me hungrier by the second, it smelt so good. And there was no doubt that my stomach was growling inside.

In no time, breakfast was ready and she served me a plate of eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast with a side plate of fruit. It was truly a breakfast of champions and it looked to die for. After preparing herself a plate she sat down next to me on the other stool in the kitchen. I took one bite of food and immediately my eyes rolled into the back of my head.

"Oh my god, Calliope. This is so good. I can't tell you the last time I had a breakfast like this."

Taking a sip of her coffee, Callie swallowed and placed her mug down on the counter. "I'm glad you enjoy it. Perhaps its an incentive to come here for breakfast more often." She said with a smirk.

I leaned in and kissed her square on the lips. "Maybe."

Half an hour later we had finished our breakfast and Callie was washing the dishes in the sink while I sipped on my second cup of coffee and watched. "You sure you don't want me to give you a hand?" I asked her. I didn't want her to feel like she had to do everything.

"No, no it's fine. You're a guest in my home, and plus I made the mess, so I will clean it up. So, anything planned for today?" She asked me while scrubbing a dish.

"No, today is my day off, so I was just going to go home and clean up a little. You?"

"Nothing major. I was actually planning to go on this hike through the mountains today. You wouldn't want to join me, would you?"

"I'd love to...after cleaning?" I asked. I know that spending time with her was far more important but if the cleaning was done first, then I wouldn't have to worry about it later.

"How about I help you clean up your apartment. That way it's done sooner and then the sooner we can get on that hike. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Great. Okay, I'm just going to go to the washroom and get dressed real quick and then the bathroom is all yours if you need it okay? There's more coffee in the pot if you'd like." She walked over to me and kissed me before heading into the bedroom.

I continued to sit at the counter sipping on my cup of coffee, smiling to myself. I was in love with Callie, there was no doubt about it and that morning she had admitted to loving me too. I was over the moon and was seeing my life in a different light.

Just when life was beginning to feel exciting and wonderful again, I got thrown for a loop once again. As I sat in the kitchen reminiscing of my memories from the night before, I heard a loud thud from the bedroom.

"Calliope?" I called out. There was no answer. "Calliope, you okay?" I called out again. This time getting off the stool and walking towards the bedroom. There was still no answer. Deciding not to wait any longer, I opened her door and saw her laying unconscious on the bedroom floor. I rushed to her side in a panic. "Calliope! Oh my god! Oh my god!" I screamed. Tears beginning to profusely run down my face. I was absolutely petrified. I immediately ran to the phone and dialed for an ambulance.

Within minutes, the paramedics arrived at the apartment and placed Callie on the stretcher and proceeded to take her down to the ambulance. I in a frantic hurry pulled on some clothes and followed them to the hospital. I called Teddy to tell her what had happened and as soon as I arrived at the hospital she was waiting for me to fill me in on what was going on.

"She's conscious and they've taken her up to CT. Once I know any more I will come find you, okay?" Teddy said to me pulling me into a hug.

"Okay, thank you." I went and sat over in the waiting area. My mind was going a mile a minute. I couldn't even begin to comprehend what was happening. Callie was fine one minute and then unconscious the next.

I waited and waited, and finally Teddy came to get me. "Hey, Zona. Sorry. Okay, she's up in room 1602. She's awake and seems okay. She's just a little groggy from being unconscious. But you can come up and see her now."

I released a breathe and followed Teddy up to Callie's room. When I walked in the sight nearly broke my heart. Callie was laying in a hospital bed with the oxygen tube under her nose and IV's in her arms. I walked over to her bedside and and placed her hand in mine. She smiled up at me and gave my hand a squeeze to let me know that she was okay.

Then a doctor came into the room and stood at the foot of the bed. She had in her hand what I could only presume to be Callie's medical charts.

I suddenly felt the loss of Callie's touch, and immediately began to feel confused and worried.

The doctor looked to me and started to speak. "Hi, I'm doctor Swender."

"Hi, I'm Arizona." I said. The worry and fear was rising within me rather quickly every second the doctor wasn't saying anything. She then directed the conversation to Calliope.

"Callie, you are doing okay. But your episode was due to the cancer. Now, I know you refused treatment the last time we spoke but, I am telling you that it is still small enough that I have high hopes that we can kick it in the butt with treatment. Just think about it okay." With that, Doctor Swender left the room.

My body was in total shock. How could she have not told me that she was sick? She was sick all that time and she never said a word. I felt hurt, lied to. I couldn't even look at her. My mind was going a mile a minute and I was full of all sorts of emotions that I couldn't be in the same room with Callie. As I stormed out of the room with not so much as a word spoken to Callie or Teddy, I could hear the two of them arguing over me and the situation.

I made my way to the hospital exit and walked outside. When I stepped out of the doors I was surprised to see that it was raining hard out. Rain wasn't something that happened a lot in LA. I started to head out into the parking lot when I heard her. I heard her voice calling out to me.

"Arizona! Arizona, wait! Can you just talk to me?" She called out.

I turned around and saw her standing out in the pouring rain getting soaked by the second. "Callie, get inside before you catch a cold!"

"No! Not until you talk to me."

"How long did you know you were sick?" I asked her as I approached slowly.

"I found out two months before I even met you. I have a growth in my lung. It's been small enough that, it hasn't affected any of the physical activity I do, but today was the first time it's ever gotten to me."

"Why would you refuse treatment, then?" I was angry and she knew it, but I was thankful that she was at least being honest with me now.

"Because I figured that it was what it was. I figured if I pushed it to the back of my mind and just carried on with my life that it wouldn't get to me. Concentrating on all that was good in my life was a hell of a lot better than concentrating on my illness and living in fear."

"Why...why didn't you tell me?" Anything else I had asked her didn't really matter to me. All I really wanted to know was why she never told me she was sick.

"Because you were wallowing in your grief over your ex-girlfriend! She died of cancer! Do you think if you had known before hand that I had cancer, you would have initiated a romantic relationship between us? Would you still have gone out with me?"

In that second, there was nothing I could think of to say. I just stood there looking at Callie, all drenched and even through the beads of rain drops on her face and the rain coming down hard on her body, I could see her tears. But yet, I just stood there.

She looked to me and nodded her head with a defeated smile. "I didn't think so." That was all she said and then she walked back in to the hospital.

I went back to my apartment and changed into dry clothes. I sat on my couch for nearly three hours trying to process everything she had told me. Since meeting Callie, she really taught me how to live. To seize every good thing that comes into your life. To do things that make you happy and make you feel whole. She taught me a lot, and the longer I sat on my sofa, the more I realized that in her own way, she saved me. If I hadn't met her, I don't know if I would have recovered from losing Joanne. Callie pulled me out of my darkest place and pulled me to the light. She saved my life. It was my turn to save hers.

I grabbed my keys off the kitchen counter and dashed out of my apartment and headed back to the hospital. I ran up the two flights of stairs and sprinted to Callie's room. I walked right in and saw Callie all dried up and back in bed, Teddy sitting by her bedside in the chair in the corner of the room. I walked right up to the foot of her bed and looked right through her eyes.

"I want you to fight this. Get the treatment. I want you to get the treatment because you made me fall for you. You made me fall for you and now I'm in love with you and you are in love with me. So I want you to get the treatment and fight because I'm not done loving you."

She looked to me tears streaming down her face. I walked to her side and knelt down to meet her level. I grabbed her hand in mine and placed my other hand to her face and caressed her cheek, using my thumb to wipe away the tears. I leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

When I pulled away, she smiled to me. "Okay. I"ll do it."


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey everyone! So sorry it has taken me awhile to update this story. I've had a couple of crazy weeks...as usual...but these past couple have been really exhausting and I've been too tired to write. But here I am back with an update for you all. Thanks to those who comment the positive feedback every update, especially funkyshaz! Hope you all enjoy the update...this is more of a filler, but I hope you enjoy none the less! :)**

**xox hASHbrown**

Chapter 10

"Hey, you." I said as I came into Callie's hospital room the next morning.

I came in with coffee and bagels for breakfast and I sat next to her in the chair next to the bed.

"Hey. Thank you for the breakfast." She said smiling to me. I could see in her eyes that something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"I just, I don't want you to feel guilty or feel like you have to stick around because I'm sick. I should have told you and I didn't. What happened was really cruel. I'm so sorry." I could see that she was starting to cry and my heart nearly broke. I could see in her face how horrible she felt that she didn't tell me. But I was in love with her. I was in love for the first time in a long time, and I was in love with her on a whole other level. I knew we were going to really have a discussion about it all, but in that moment, all I cared about...all I wanted was her.

" I don't feel guilty, I'm not staying because of guilt. I meant what I said last night. Despite it all, and we will talk about it when I take you home, this summer so far has been amazing because I found you."

She looked like she was going to say something back to me when a nurse came in with the discharge papers. Callie signed them almost instantly and once the nurse had left, she looked to me with a small smile.

We left the hospital and I drove her back home to her apartment. I set her up on the couch and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water for her. I then walked over and joined her on the sofa.

"So, we're going to talk about it then." She said to me after taking a gulp of water from the glass I handed her.

"We are going to talk about it." I looked down into my lap for a moment trying to organize my thoughts and pick my words carefully. "I'm not mad anymore, I'm just saddened that you didn't tell me you were sick from the beginning. I guess, I just...I just want to know the whole story."

Callie nodded her head in silence to me and took in a deep breathe. "Well, like I told you yesterday, I found out a couple months before you and I had ever met. I was devastated, angry, scared. All those things. But then I figured that if I pushed it to the back of my mind and just carried on with my life that everything would be okay. That I would accept I was sick and that I'd die when it was my time to die. So went on living my life. Taking advantage of every adventure that comes my way."

I nodded and gestured for her to continue.

"When I met you, that day in the chapel when I asked you to take that day trip with me. You looked exactly how I felt when I found out. It was never my intention to fall for you. Never was it my intention to hurt you in any way. But I did. I fell in love with you so fast and before I knew it, I was already in real deep. I fell in love with you and I ended up hurting you." She looked down into her lap. I could see the hurt in her eyes and I knew she was sincerely hurting over her hurting me.

I just stared at her for a moment when it hit me. "You said it wasn't a good idea to fall in love with you. That's what you meant, didn't you?"

"That's exactly what I meant. I knew that I'd just end up hurting you. And I was right. I have. Saying sorry won't even begin to make things right. I'm so sorry." The tears were starting to run down her face and it nearly broke my heart. This woman helped me to see things in a different light. To look at things in a different perspective. She kept going on about how she hurt me and from one angle, she was right, it did hurt.

"Callie listen to me..." I said lifting her chin so that our eyes could meet. "...I was hurt at first. I'm not going to lie. But I also understand that you were trying to protect me. You didn't want me to go through with you what I went through with Joanne. But in our time together, you have showed me so much, taught me so much. You put me back together, and through it all you've seen me at my worst and been my rock. But sometimes the girl who's always there for other people needs someone to be there for them. I am not going anywhere because I am so in love with you and I want to spend the rest of my life telling you that." I closed the gap between us and pressed my lips to hers. Lingering in the feeling of her touch. Of our love that just kept growing as time went on.

A week later...

"Hey are you ready?" I called out to Callie who was in her bedroom grabbing something. In that second it felt like a deja vu. I had been in this position before nearly a year ago. Nearly a year ago. I couldn't believe that it was almost that long ago.

Callie came out of the bedroom and headed in my direction. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's get this done with." It was the day of her first round of treatment to kill the cancer. The entire ride in the car I could tell that she was feeling on edge. I slid my hand to her thigh and squeezed gently to let her know everything would be okay.

Once we were at the hospital we headed up to the cancer ward and a nurse helped set Callie up for the chemo. I sat next to her the entire time and amazingly even though I knew she was nervous, she wore a smile the entire time. We sat like that for quite awhile just talking about anything when I got a text from Teddy.

"It's Teddy, she wants me to come find her. But, I can tell her that I can't." I said looking to Callie.

"No, no. Don't mind me. Teddy is your best friend, go. I'll be okay. Or she can come here if she wants to. I don't mind the company." She said smiling brightly to me. I smiled back and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

I left the ward and headed down to Cardio. I found Teddy standing by the nurses station. "Hey, how's Callie doing? We miss her around here." Teddy said as she greeted me with a hug.

"She's astonishingly doing quite well. Taking it in strides with a smile on her face. She's upstairs right now actually. Wanna come join us?"

"I wish I could but I have a triple bypass to get to in half an hour. But the reason I asked you to come here was because I want to know how you're doing. How you're handling all this."

"You know, I'm doing okay. I'm still a little scared but things are just so different with Callie. I have faith that she will beat this and interesting enough I believe that we're going to be fine."

"That's all I wanted to know. Tell her I said hi and I will come see her the first chance that I get. We all will." Teddy pulled me into another hug and then was on her way to her surgery.

I returned to Callie and we sat together for another hour before it was time to go. When we were heading to the car she surprised me.

"Do you want to go out for dinner tonight? Or, I can cook us something."

"Calliope, you just had a large dose of chemo go through your body. You should take it easy. Why don't we go back to your place, and we can order in and just curl up together on the couch and watch a movie?" I asked her. I was holding my breathe, hoping that she wouldn't protest.

Instead she just smiled at me and pulled me into her arms. "Okay, we can do that." She said as she kissed the top of my head. I smiled inside and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer.

I took her home and the second she stepped into her apartment, she went to the bedroom to change into sweats and a t-shirt. I set our stuff down and grabbed the phone off the kitchen counter. I placed an order for delivery and then sat on the couch waiting for Callie to reappear.

The night was relaxing and somehow despite everything that had changed in the last week, I was still unbelievably happy. I was curled up watching a movie in the arms of the woman I had come to love so quickly and so intensely and there was nowhere else I would have rather been.

The comfortable silence between us quickly became too quiet. I turned my head and titled it back to look up at her face. I smiled and lifted my hand to caress her cheek. A smile crept up on her face and she leaned down, taking my lips to hers. It started out slow and soft. It was just like a scene you'd see in a movie. The kiss soon turned more hungry and passionate and I found myself reaching behind her neck to pull her closer as her hand rode up under my shirt and rested upon my breast. I found myself letting out a guttural moan in her mouth as she took my breast in her hand and massaged it gently but firmly.

The more we continued to do this, the hotter and wetter I could feel it getting in-between my legs. Before I could even get my bearings straight, Callie had managed to somehow swoop me into her arms. She then got off the couch and carried me across the living room in the direction of her bedroom. Our mouths never stayed too far away from each other for more than mere fractions of a second, and our tongues completely entwined. I pulled away just before she got to the bedroom door and looked into her eyes that I could see were full of love and longing for me. "What are you doing?" I asked her. I knew what she was doing. It was as plain as day but I had to hear her say it.

"I'm taking you to bed." She responded with probably one of the most sexiest husk in her voice that I had ever heard.

"You sure, you're up to it? You had a pretty..." I tried to continue but she cut me off with a kiss and continued to walk through the door into her bedroom. "I'm sure." She whispered into my mouth as she kicked the door closed behind her.

The next morning...

I woke up next morning cuddled up in Callie's arms. She appeared to still be sleeping and she looked so peaceful. I placed a soft kiss to her cheek and she began to stir. Her eyes slowly opened and met mine with a smile. "Morning" I said softly to her.

"Morning." She said to me kissing me gently on my lips. She then flipped us over so she was over me and started to place feather light kisses down my neck and shoulders. "Mmm...you were incredible last night."

Stroking my hand up and down her bare back and smiling at her comment I replied. "We were incredible."

She pulled away and looked adoringly into my eyes. She brought her face down and kissed me gently but through that kiss I could feel all the love she had for me. When she pulled away suddenly I was a little sad at the loss of contact. Then I looked into her eyes and knew that there was something wrong. The expression on her face was not good. In a flash, she sprang off the bed and dashed into the bathroom and that's when I could hear her throwing up in the bathroom.

I jumped out of bed and followed her in. I grabbed a robe off the back of the door and covered myself with it, and took the second one, draping it over her shoulders. I sat on the edge of the tub and held her hair back, rubbing circles on her back as she emptied the entire contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl.


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey everyone! I am back with another update. This chapter too is more of a filler than anything and my apologies for it being short. I know where I want this story to end, it's just a matter of setting myself up to get there. So, I'm trying to plan out the next couple of chapters. Not sure how much longer this story is going to go for, but I promise you that I will not rush to the ending. But I don't want to drag it on either. So without further adieu here is the next chapter. Thanks again to everyone who reads and comments on each chapter, you guys are who keep me going.**

**Happy reading! :)**

**~hASHbrown**

Chapter 11

Callie Torres, I tell you was a stubborn woman. After that day when I had to hold her and comfort her in the bathroom, she seemed to be more determined than ever to show me that she was still the confident, badass, free spirited woman that she was. She didn't want me to see her as weak. As cute as it was, it was also a little frustrating. She didn't need to put up a strong front for me. I had dealt with this kind of thing before, with Joanne. Thanks to Callie's strength, I knew I was strong enough to handle it again.

We were now going into the month of August and for the most part Callie was doing well. Rarely did she have a day where she felt as sick as she did after that first day of treatment. Callie literally blew me away. She carried on with her life as if nothing had happened. She was just as adventurous as she was when I first met her.

"I appreciate and am grateful that you are here to see me through this, and I love you. But I don't want to see you put your life on hold because I am sick. I'm certainly not going to, so neither should you. I was sick before I met you, that hasn't changed. The best thing we can do is to live our lives."

"Wow." Teddy said to me. Just by the expression on her face, I could tell she was latched on to my words like they were words from an intense well drawn out novel.

"Yeah. She is sick Teddy. She's fighting an illness and all she wants to do is go on road trips, take runs or walks on the beach and go skydiving. She needs to take it easy, and I need her to just let me take care of her."

"Arizona, Callie is not just going to submit to being bed bound while she's sick. Callie has a point. Remember what happened with you and Joanne? You put your entire life on hold because she was fighting cancer. Neither her nor I want to see you go through that again. You both know she's sick and that's going to go away quickly but you both know and are fighting it. That is all you can do and in the meantime you live your life."

"It's just since I met her, she's taken care of me. She put me back together. I want to do the same."

"You love her a great deal, don't you?" Teddy asked me.

"I love her more than anything. I never thought I'd love like this, but I love her more than anything and I want longer than just a summer with her."

"Then you fight to beat her illness, but don't waste the time in fear that she's going to die sooner than later. Live your life, go on crazy adventures. If there is anything that Callie has taught you, it's that despite all the crappy things life can throw at you, you have to live your life in the moment. Live for the day and appreciate all the beauty in life."

Teddy said as she took my hand in hers. Teddy wasn't one for grand speeches but she sure did say some pretty darn powerful things that day.

"Yeah? Like what?" I asked. I was worried that I was going to lose Callie, like I lost Joanne and it just made me feel unsure of things.

"Like the fact that you found a woman that you love, who loves you back and who when talking to her just last week she told me how much she loves you and how she would do anything for you. She also told me that she is willing to fight the cancer with everything she's got because when she pictures her future, she sees you in it." She gave my hand a squeeze and smiled.

"She said that?" I asked her. I had never really heard anything more beautiful till that moment.

"Yeah she said it. Brought tears to my eyes. She has a beautiful soul, one that matches yours, and she's good for you. So go. Go be with her and go on her adventures. Be happy now and worry about everything else later."

I smiled back at Teddy and pulled her into a hug. I sprang out of my chair in her office and left the hospital to be with the woman that I loved.

I went to Callie's apartment and knocked on the door. She answered it soon after and a bright smile crept up on my face as I saw her deep brown eyes staring deep into me.

"Hey, come on in, I have some pasta cooking. You hungry?" She asked me as she stepped away from the door, gesturing for me to come in. She made her way back to the kitchen and I shut the door behind me, dropping my stuff off to the side.

I joined her in the kitchen and watched as she cooked. "I had a visit with Teddy today."

"Oh yeah? How was that? Did you have fun?" She asked me while she was stirring the sauce that was cooking in the pot over the stove.

"Yeah it was. We actually talked a lot about you." I admitted.

"Oh really? All good things I hope" she responded with a slight laugh.

"Well I told her about our conversation the other day, and she really helped me to put things in perspective." I responded. Right away I could see the smile on her face fall and she stared at me with an expression of worry.

"She really made me see that you had a point. I don't want to live in fear and walk on eggshells just because you're sick doesn't mean that we can't enjoy life so, I decided to take my vacation time and join you on your adventures as you like to call them." I said with a smile to my face as I walked around the counter and wrapped my arms around Callie's neck. She smiled back to me and planted a light and delicate kiss to my lips.

"If I recall, when I first met you and invited you to go on a little day trip with me, it was you who called it an adventure, not me." She said grinning.

I shook my head and couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, fine but anyway...what's on the agenda? I have three weeks vacation time so whatever you want to do, I am game."

"Great, well tonight my plan is to feed you and then get you in my bed. Tomorrow, I think we will go to Miami for a couple days."

"Miami? That's a bit grand don't you think?"

"Well, you just said that you have three weeks of vacation and I can't work right now because of the cancer treatments so, I figured I should go home for a few days, and I would like you to join me."

"What's in Miami?" I asked.

"Well, my family for starters and I have a house on a stretch of private beach."

"Would we get any alone time at this house you speak of?"

"Oh a lot of alone time." She responded raising her eyebrow with a devilish grin.

"Then I'm in." I responded with a chaste kiss.

"Good, now that that is sorted, why don't you serve us some wine and I will get some plates ready."

The rest of our night was perfect. We ate and fell into comfortable conversation about our day. Afterward we cleaned up and cuddled up on the sofa and watched TV, with me sitting up at one end and Callie resting in-between my legs.

What we were watching, well that's not important, but the silence wasn't awkward. She lay in-between my legs, and her head resting on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight. Some time passed and I glanced up at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was almost eleven at night. I called out her name but got no answer. I then whispered it softly into her ear, but still she didn't respond. I leaned forward to look into her gorgeous face and I noticed that she was sound asleep. She was so beautiful and looked so peaceful and angelic when she slept, I didn't have the nerve to wake her. So I grabbed a pillow to support my back, rested my head against the back of the sofa and drifted off to sleep holding Callie close to me.


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey Everyone! Sorry about the delay on an update, but here it is. For the millionth time, thanks again to everyone who reads the stories and comments back with positive words of encouragement. Just as a heads up, this story will end fairly soon...probably another 3 or 4 chapters to go...haven't decided. But thank you again, and Happy Thanksgiving to all you in the US! **

**Enjoy,**

**3 hASHbrown**

Chapter 12

There was only three weeks left of summer, and it was like a second new beginning for Callie and I. Concentrating on just being together and drowning ourselves in the love that we never expected to find in each other at all. Thinking back to the day when Callie spoke to me in the hospital chapter, never in a million years would I have thought we'd fall in love. I thought Joanne was the love of my life. I thought she was it for me. I would always love Joanne, she was my first. But Callie, in that moment while I was sitting on the bed watching Callie do her makeup in the bathroom, it hit me. Callie was the love of my life. Still is.

About three hours later, Callie and I were boarding a plane, first class seats I might add, headed for Miami. Sitting on the plane, I still had all those feelings of fear lingering in the back of my mind. Sometimes it felt as though something deep inside of me was talking to me. Constantly reminding me, whispering in the back of my head that Callie was sick and no matter how hard she fought or whether or not she took treatment, there was still that lingering possibility that she could die. When was the mystery.

However, I chose not to listen to the voices. Sure, I was afraid. I was practically scared to death. Pardon the expression. But I had made the conscious decision to not let it interfere with enjoying whatever time I had with Callie.

"So what's the plan once we land?" I asked, turning my attention away from the thoughts in my head to the beautiful woman sitting next to me.

"Well, by the time we get landed, and get to the beach house, it will be too late to do much, so I figured we'd just get settled at the house and have a nice quiet, relaxing night. Tomorrow we'll have some adventures." Callie said to me squeezing my hand gently.

"Will this night involve wine and you know..." I asked with a sly grin.

"Depends on what 'you know...' is." She responded. She fully enjoyed teasing me because she knew that it got me all flustered every time.

"Calliope! you know what I meant."

"I know. I'm just having a little fun." She said laughing.

It was about four thirty in the afternoon by the time we landed in Miami. Callie and I, hand in hand got off the plane and went to grab our luggage. After standing at baggage claim, sandwiched between Callie and some really big, sweaty guy, Callie and I were standing on an escalator heading down to the first floor of the airport. There were people standing behind a belt holding up signs with names of the people they were waiting for.

Just glancing at them not really paying attention, I had to take a double take when I noticed that there was a man dressed in a simple black suit holding up a sign that said 'Torres'. I turned to Callie, looking at her with what I'm sure was a look of shock on my face.

"What?" She asked.

"You have a driver picking us up?"

"Well I don't have a car here seeing as how I don't live here anymore."

"So you hire a driver?" I asked. I wasn't mad. I was just in shock. I had never been treated to such luxuries ever.

"Well I didn't hire him, exactly. He's my dad's driver...don't worry, I'll explain in the car."

We were greeted by the gentlemen standing waiting for us and were shortly escorted to the car that was waiting for us outside. While we were sitting in the back of a black Dodge Charger, Callie explained to me how she basically grew up in money. Her father was a very successful business man, owning a couple hotel chains.

I was a little surprised at first, because that was something that Callie never told me about her family. She then explained that the only reason she never told me sooner was because in the past, she's revealed that she comes from money to the person she's dating at the time and it totally scared them off. I didn't blame her for feeling that way. If it were me, I probably would have ended up doing the same thing.

The driver, who I later learned his was Joseph dropped us off at this marina that was full of docked boats.

"What time would you like me to pick you up tomorrow, miss?" Joe asked as he helped Callie unload our bags out of the trunk.

"If you pick us up for around ten tomorrow morning? I think we're going to have brunch with my parents." She said to him. "And please, call me Callie."

He nodded and we said our goodbyes, as he hopped back into the car and drove off. Callie placed a delicate and sweet kiss to my cheek before grabbing my hand and leading me down the pier. We stopped in front of this speed boat and she quickly hopped in grabbing the luggage from the edge of the dock and tossing it into the boat. She then smiled at me holding out her hand so that I could grab it. She helped me into the boat and as soon as we were settled, she untied the boat, hopped into the driver's seat, started the engine and slowly drove the boat away from the marina.

Once we were into the open water, she sped up causing the marina to gradually become a speck in the distance. The afternoon sun was shining down upon us, it was a beautiful afternoon.

About an hour later, we arrived at this small island. On the island, sat this cute beach house. It was just a simple bungalow, but it had a beautifully designed spacious deck that looked out onto the stretch of beach and ocean. We have views like this in LA but out on the island, this felt more serene.

Callie tied the boat to the dock and unloaded our stuff before getting out. Once again she reached out to help me out of the boat. I looked into her beautiful eyes and looked around, taking in my surroundings I said to her. "When you said stretch of private beach, you weren't kidding."

She laughed and pulled me close to her body. "Nope." Kissing me softly she smiled and led me to the house. Walking in, I took in my surroundings. The walls were a simple and soft white. The living room had a white sofa and chair with dusty, soft blue throw pillows to as accents. Sheer white drapes soothingly blowing in the breeze coming in from the open windows.

It was extremely peaceful there. It was like walking into the typical type of house you would only see in movies. I almost couldn't believe I was there.

I followed Callie into the bedroom and, it too was just as tastefully decorated. Walls white just like the rest of the house, with dark wood furniture. It was cozy. I turned to the curtains that I could see moving from the corner of my eye and there was a patio door that went out to the deck looking over the ocean. I put my bag down and headed out onto the deck to look over the scene before me.

About a minute later, I felt a pair of arms snake their way around my waist. I turned and smiled up at the beautiful woman who brought me to this incredible place.

"I'm so happy you're here with me." She whispered in my ear as she rested her head on my shoulders and looked out into the water with me.

"Thank you for bringing me here. This place is incredible." I turned once more so that my eyes could meet with hers. bringing my hand to rest behind her neck, I gently pulled her head down and brought our lips together. I relished in the feeling of kissing her, till she gently pulled away.

"My dad stocked up the fridge before we got here. Why don't I fix us some dinner." She said, placing a sweet kiss to my forehead.

"Sounds wonderful. Do you mind if I take a shower, while you make dinner?" I asked.

She smiled to me. "Not at all. It's right through there." She said as she continued to hold me and turned me around in the direction of bedroom, pointing to the door that lead to the bathroom.

I must have lost track of time while in the shower because, when I came out of the bathroom and walked into the bedroom to put on some clothes, I heard Callie yell across the hall. "When you're ready come on out. Food's ready."

I walked out into the living area and looked out the patio door that was situated between the living room and the kitchen. I walked out towards the sound of soft music playing outside Callie had lit candles and placed them all along the railing of the deck. She set up the table outside with our plates of food and a bottle of wine with two glasses.

I was in complete awe. Nobody had ever done anything like this for me before. I'm sure by now that I've made rather clear and obvious that I had never met anyone like Callie.

She walked up to me and grabbed my hand. She led me to the table and poured me a glass of wine before doing the same for herself and sitting across from me.

"This is beautiful Calliope. Everything is just perfect."

"You're perfect." She responded.

With a laugh, I said "Calliope, I'm far from perfect."

She moved her chair so that she was almost right next to me. She grabbed my hand, holding it in hers and placing close to her chest. I could never forget the way she looked at me in that moment. "Imperfection is perfect to me. I never knew that I could love a person this much. Never knew that I wanted someone as much as I love and want you."

"Calliope, I love you so much."

"I love you too." She said and pulled me in, closing the gap between our lips.

We continued to enjoy the night and our dinner as we gazed into the night sky. After finishing what must have been my third or fourth glass of wine, Callie got out of her chair and stopped right in front of me. She stretched out her hand, inviting me to grab it. "Come, dance with me."

With the music playing in the background, she led me to a clearing on the patio and pulled me into her embrace. She slowly started to sway to the music and my body followed suit. I couldn't help but drown in her essence. The sweet smell of her skin, made me weak in the knees and I found myself completely melting into her. After taking a moment to relish the feeling of our bodies swaying in perfect unison, I pulled away to look into her deep brown eyes. Ever heard the expression that eyes are the window to the soul? I used to think that was a load of crap. But Callie made me a believer.

"When did you know?" I asked her.

"Know what?" She said kissing me sweetly on my neck.

"When did you know that you loved me?"

"I knew I loved you the first night you and I went to dinner. I'm going to let you in on a secret. I wanted that dinner to be more than just two friends having a meal together."

"Why did you say that it was just a friendly dinner then?" I asked her. She looked back at me with her eyes that, told me everything the second I opened my mouth. "You were trying to protect me."

She simply nodded, a tear falling from her eye. In the blink of a second, I pulled her in and crashed our lips together with a gentle yet firm force. "I'm in love with you, Calliope."

"I'm in love with you too."

I pulled her back into me, and slowly led us back into the house and into the bedroom. The only light illuminating the room and its contents was coming from the moon outside. I pulled her just to till I could feel the backs of my legs meet the edge of the bed. Slowly, while I looked right through her eyes, I pulled her shirt over her head and dropping it on the floor next to me. Removing her bra with just one hand, I tossed it swell, exposing her bare chest. I kissed her skin starting at the base of her neck, working my way down her chest. A gentle moan escaping her lips as I did so.

She reached for my chin and gently pulled me up so that my eyes could meet hers. She brought our lips together once more, then slipped her fingers under the bottom of my shirt, and dragged her fingers up my torso as she pulled my shirt over my head. We rid each other of the rest of our clothes taking in every opportunity to feel the other's skin against our own. It was by far one of the most sensual things I had ever experienced. I turned us around and gently led her down onto the bed.

I sat myself on top of her pelvis and looked down to the sight before me. Her chest heaving in anticipation, was driving me mad, my arousal escalating till I was completely on fire. With one hand resting next to her head, I come down so that my lips are a mere inch apart from hers and I take my other hand and reach down slowly underneath me and rest my fingers in the folds of Callie's heated centre. I start to rub and rock my body back and forth. The core of my arousal rubbing against the back of my hand while my fingers dance with hers was driving us both nearer and nearer into oblivion. Both of our bodies entwined and moving together like a synchronized dance, Callie released her one hand that was clenching the comforter of bed and slid it down gently pushing two fingers inside me. I remember letting out this guttural moan out of my throat as she did this and I in turn reciprocated by thrusting two fingers inside her.

Our bodies continued to thrust against each other, chests heaving and moans escaping into each other's ears, the sensation had become too much to contain as I made her scream my name in ecstasy the whole night through.


	14. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone! My deepest apologies on the delay of an update. I've been swamped with work and haven't had much energy to do anything other than go to work and come home and sleep. Sometimes my work requires me to be at work from 9 at night till almost 4 in the morning so i am incredibly exhausted. But I had some time off today and I used it to catch up and finally finish this chapter for you all. I'm even well underway on the next update. Hope you all enjoy this chapter as I know it has been a long time coming. Looking forward to reading your reviews and comments!**

**Happy reading everyone!**

** hASHbrown**

Chapter 13

The morning air was cool. There wasn't a breeze but it was cool. It was about five in the morning when I woke up. Callie's body resting peacefully next to me. I was wide awake and decided to slip out of the bed, throw a robe on and head out to the kitchen. I made a fresh pot of coffee, pouring myself a cup; I then walked out onto the deck and sat in the morning darkness, with only my thoughts as company.

The silence of my surroundings only allowed my mind to move a mile a minute. When I was left alone like this, my mind seemed to keep asking if today would be my last day that I would ever hear her beautiful voice, or feel her loving touch. The love we found in each other was so incredibly strong. Strong and so out of this world that it sometimes scared me a little just how much I loved her. I didn't want this to end; I wanted more days like this. More days with her where we could just be. No forces fighting to pull us apart.

At some point, when the sun was just starting to rise along the horizon, I was yanked out of my thoughts when I felt a set of strong hands rest upon my shoulder giving them a gentle squeeze. I smiled to myself with my eyes closed before turning and tilting my head up to meet the beautiful eyes of the woman I loved so much.

"How long you have been out here?" She asked, kissing me sweetly.

"About an hour maybe. I made coffee, grab a cup and join me." I said as I patted the seat next to me.

Callie, dressed in her own robe, went inside and moments later reemerged out onto the deck with a mug of hot coffee in her hands. She sat next to me and together we sat in silence, holding hands and looking out to watch the sunrise as we sipped our coffee. It was the perfect morning to follow a beautifully perfect night we had.

It was around eight in the morning and the sun had pretty much risen. Callie rose from her chair and looked to me. "We should get ready. We have to be at the marina by ten and it takes an hour to get there." She reached for my hand and I grabbed it willingly as she pulled me from my seat.

I stood straight in front of her with a devilish grin. I grabbed the collar of her robe in both my hands and pulled her lips to mine. "Do we have to go? Why don't we have a repeat of last night?" I said raising my eyebrow suggestively.

Calliope laughed and pulled me close into her embrace. "I would love nothing more than to just go back to bed with you, but I promised my parents that I would spend at least one day with them and they are kind of looking forward to meeting you too."

"They are?" I had had no idea that she even mentioned me to her parents.

"Yes. Trust me they will love you. They will love you because I love you."

We headed into the house hand in hand and got dressed preparing ourselves for brunch with Calliope's parents. After we were both showered and dressed we headed out to the dock and hopped in the boat. The sun was shining bright in the sky as it reflected into the water, making the ocean a pure shimmering blue. The boat ride was magnificent. I hadn't really taken the opportunity to just sit back and enjoy it the other day. I sat in the back as Callie drove the boat back towards the marina. The wind blowing in my face and through my hair, I had never felt so free.

Once we reached the marina and Callie tied off the boat, my nerves started to kick in. I was meeting Callie's parents. An awfully big step. She hadn't even met my parents yet. In fact I got so wrapped up in my pretty pink bubble that I had neglected to even tell my mom and dad that I was dating again. That I was in a relationship with someone and that I was beyond happy. Beyond happy and yet I was also terrified that if the treatment, the radiation and chemotherapy didn't work, our love would be cut too short.

Joseph was waiting as promised in the car for us. Calliope grabbed my hand and we hopped into the car. The ride wasn't too long, but while I sat in the back of the car with Calliope, I got to see a glimpse of the city that She once called home.

The car pulled up into this long winding driveway that came around the front of an enormous grey bricked home. In the centre of the driveway sat an exquisite fountain and the gardens around the house were beautifully landscaped. Filled with flowers and greenery, the house was a marvel of it's own. My jaw was practically touching the ground I was so floored by the work of art that Callie called her childhood home.

We exited the car and as we were walking up the steps to the beautifully crafted glass door, they suddenly opened and a dark brunette, older woman greeted us.

"Callie, my dear it's been too long!" the woman said as she pulled Calliope into a tight hug.

"I know, I know. Missed all of you." Callie pulled back from the woman and turned to look at me, where I was standing behind her.

"Mary, this is Arizona. Arizona, this is Mary the housekeeper and well, she's like family. She's been with my parents since me and my sister were little."

I smiled and the Mary pulled me into a hug swell before pulling away and taking a good look at me. "She's even more beautiful than you described her to be. Listen, ladies come inside. Lucia and Carlos are out on the veranda waiting for you two."

We stepped in through the door and my jaw dropped once more as I took in the sight before me. The house on the inside was just as striking as the outside. High ceilings, dark wood flooring, this house was beautiful, and smelled divine. Lifting my jaw up, Calliope and I were escorted by Mary to the veranda out in the back.

Stepping out into the Florida sunshine we were greeted by Carlos and Lucia Torres.

"Calliope, Mija it's good to see you." Callie's father said as he pulled her into his embrace.

"It's good to see you too, daddy." Callie pulled away and looked to her mother who was waiting for her turn to hug her little girl. "I've missed you mom. I've missed you both." Callie and her mom shared a lingering hug. The smile in Lucia's face warmed my heart as I saw her be reunited with her daughter.

Lucia saw me standing watching them and instantly pulled away. "Calliope, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"I was about to get to that. Mom, dad this is Arizona Robbins."

I reached my hand out to shake Lucia's she smiled to me and took my hand in hers placing the other on top of the back of my hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Calliope has told us quite a lot about you.

"Please, come and sit down. I believe that breakfast is almost ready. Would you like a cup of coffee, Arizona?" Carlos said to me

"I would love one, thank you." I responded as I took a seat at the table next to Callie.

Breakfast was well underway and conversation with the Torres' seemed to come easier than I thought it might be. They were both very lovely and made me feel right at home.

"So Arizona, what do you do for a living?" Lucia asked me while digging into the platter of fruit sitting in the centre of the table.

"Oh, I'm a lawyer for one of the largest firms in Los Angeles."

"Oh Carlos, she's a lawyer. Calliope I'm liking her more and more. A lot better than Erica."

"Mom, don't start." Callie said to her mom. She then glanced in my direction with an apologetic look.

"No, Callie it's okay. I want to hear about this Erica woman." I said giving her a devilish grin.

"Erica was Calliope's ex-girlfriend. She was way too serious and a little stuck up if you ask me" Lucia explained.

"Does she live in Miami somewhere?" I asked, directing my question to Callie.

"No actually, she was another doctor at St. Ambrose back in LA but she doesn't work there anymore. To be honest nobody knows what happened to her." Callie said, sipping on her coffee.

"What do you mean? What happened between you two?" I asked. People don't just disappear. Usually.

"Her and I got into an argument one night out in the hospital parking lot. She wasn't really willing to listen to my perspective on what it was we were arguing about so she walked away from me that. I never saw her again. Next thing I know, I show up to work to find that she resigned." Callie told me.

There was a bit of an awkward silence after that but Carlos quickly jumped in to lighten the mood.

"So, Arizona. Our Calliope has told us a lot about you, but she never said how you two met." He asked me.

"Well sir, It was kind of one of those 'meant to be' situations. I was grieving the death of my ex girlfriend and one day, my friend Teddy dragged me out to the beach, and that's where I first saw Calliope. We kept running into each other and I found out that she works with Teddy at the same hospital."

"She came to visit Teddy one day when I ran into her at the hospital chapel. I could tell that she was upset about something so I talked to her for a short time and coaxed her into coming on a little jaunt with me. After that we just seemed to hit it off." Callie added in after me.

"I don't want to come across negatively or anything, but Arizona I have to ask. Being that my daughter is sick..." Carlos started to say, but I immediately cut him off.

"Mr. Torres, with all due respect, if your going to ask me if I'm with her only because she's sick or if I'm playing with the emotions of a sick woman, then I'm going to stop you right there. I fell in love with Callie before I even knew she was sick. In pursued the relationship. I went after her. The fact that she is sick hasn't changed a thing. I'm in love with your daughter sir, and that will never change." I said to both Lucia and Carlos, all while firmly holding onto Callie's hand.

The rest of breakfast went well. Conversation went back to lighter subjects and was filled with a lot of laughter. After breakfast, Carlos had asked Callie to walk with him to his study. Which left me alone with Lucia to take a tour around the house.

"You have a beautiful home Mrs. Torres." I said as I took in my surroundings and the lovely fragrance that filled the home.

"Thank you dear, and please call me Lucia."

I smiled back to her. She wasn't at all what I had expected. Callie's parents, I had come to discover were very catholic. Which is probably why it surprised me a little to see that they had accepted Callie's sexuality and our relationship with each other.

"Lucia, I had so much coffee this morning, could you tell me where your bathroom is?"

"Sure thing dear. Just walk straight down this hall it's the second third door on the right." She pointed down the long hallway we were standing in. I started to make my way down to the bathroom, Lucia continuing on back to the living area.

As I was drawing nearer, I could hear voices coming from the door to my right. I identified the voices to be that of Callie and her father. Normally I do not condone ease dropping, but I couldn't fend off my curiosity and I rested my head to the door to get a better listen at what they were saying.

"Calliope, I hope you know what you are doing. You are not fighting off a cold. You have cancer. An illness that is so unpredictable. You have no idea what lies ahead. I just don't want you to get this girl's hopes up of a future with you if there is even the slightest possibility you won't make it."

"That's really nice dad. I'm not dead. I'm still here. I'm still breathing, I'm still living."

"But you refused treatment. So yes, you are alive and living. But for how long Calliope? How long before you break your mother's heart, mine, and that beautiful woman that loves you?"

"I'm getting treatment. I'm fighting this daddy. I'm fighting this not only for you and mom, myself. I'm fighting for Arizona too. Her last girlfriend died of cancer, and when I met her she was practically dead inside from the pain. But she is happy again, daddy. And I mean really happy. She loves me and I love her. I love her more than anything in this world and I will do what ever it takes to beat this."

"Calliope, I..."

"I will beat this daddy. I will not be responsible for taking her happiness away. I will not be the one who breaks her heart and kills her all over again. I won't leave her, I can't. I cannot be another dead girlfriend in the story of her life. I won't have that be her story, because she deserves better. She will have a future, and I am going to fight with everything I have to make sure that that future has me in it."

"You love her a great deal don't you?"

"I love her more than life itself. Never thought I'd find love like this."

"Then, I am proud of you and I am so happy that you have someone to see you through this."

The rest of the day was for Callie and I to do as we please. She had decided that she would like to take me around the city and show me all the places she used to spend her time.

After spending several hours exploring the hustle and bustle of Miami, Callie and I had Joseph drive us back to the marina so that we could head back to the house to enjoy the rest of our afternoon on the beach.

The sun was setting over the water, it was a glorious view. Spending time just enjoying the fresh air with the woman I came to love so quickly induced feelings in me that were beyond anything. These feelings that I was experiencing, thanks to Calliope were an adventure on its own.

Callie and I sat in the sand on the beach just at the shore as we watched the sun set and cast a warm sparkle along the water. I pulled her into me and connected our lips, enjoying and reveling in the feeling of our love that I could only pray wouldn't be cut too short.


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey everyone! My sincerest apologies with the delay in an update. I had set my deadline for christmas day and it just didn't happen. But here it finally is and I hope that you enjoy it. This story will soon come to an end as I don't want to drag it on forever and I'm also in the works of writing my next story and I really want to sink my teeth into it. But anyway, thank you once again for your comments and I hope you keep them coming.**

**Happy new year to you all! **

Happy reading

3 hASHbrown

Chapter 14

It was the last day that we had together in Miami, and even then we didn't really have much time to enjoy it as we had to pack and make our way back to the airport.

I woke up free of clothing, all snuggled into the crisp sheets of the bed. The cool breeze coming in through the window. The scent of food over taking my senses as I lay in bed stretching my body to wake it from it's slumber.

Shortly after, Calliope walked into the bedroom with a tray of food and fresh coffee. I sat up in the bed, pulling a robe off the floor and wrapping it around my naked form. She set the tray in front of me and then climbed into the bed placing a tender kiss to my forehead.

"Good Morning." She said to me sweetly

"Mmm, good morning. What have we here?"

"Just a little bit of breakfast I whipped up for you. Need your strength to get through today after the night we had." She said to me smirking and quite blatantly checking me out.

She kissed me once more and left me to eat breakfast in bed while she headed back to the kitchen to clean up and pack some of our stuff before we head out to the mainland to say goodbye to her parents.

After finishing my breakfast that Calliope was sweet enough to prepare for me, I decided to jump into the shower. Letting the water wash over my body was incredibly soothing and helped to wash away all my feelings of worry and fear. With my eyes closed, I took in a deep breath and exhaled as the hot water ran down my skin.

Lost in the sensation of the heat, I was startled when I felt a pair of hands wrap themselves around me. I turned into the embrace and opened my eyes to see Calliope and her naked form in front of me. Without saying a word, she pressed her lips to mine. Passionately, hungrily, lustfully. Lifting me with her strength, she spun me around and pressed me to the wet cold tile of the shower. Almost immediately I could feel heat and wetness develop in between my legs. Completely losing myself in the moment I couldn't help but wrap my legs around Callie's waist as she held me up, pinned between her wet naked chest and the wall.

"We're supposed to have a quick visit with your parents before we go to the airport." I say in a husky whisper.

"We have time. I just can't help myself." She responds bringing our lips back together in an instant.

The entire situation had me turned on in a second and before I knew it, Callie had slipped a hand down, while still holding me up, to the slick folds of my heated center. She rubbed me gently back and forth a couple times before taking two fingers and thrusting up inside me slowly. The sensation was intoxicating and I craved for it to continue. I slowly started to ride her fingers while she kissed me passionately all over my body.

The eruption that was about to occur in my body was drawing nearer and nearer and the heat between our bodies was becoming warmer and warmer. The rhythm of my body thrusting on her fingers had increased and my body could not take it anymore. With a few more strokes, my body completely exploded inside and I went deep inside the euphoric sensation that I only ever felt when Callie was inside me.

An hour later, we were dressed and arriving back at the Marina. Joseph was there as expected and drove us to the Torres home. We settled out on the veranda again, and enjoyed lunch together outside in the fresh air.

I took in on Callie's advice and took every moment to enjoy my surroundings. To just enjoy and appreciate how beautiful the world can be. The veranda looked out to a lovely field of green grass with beautifully landscaped gardens, and swimming pool. When Callie said she came from money, she wasn't joking. But I admired Carlos for everything he had accomplished and the lifestyle he worked so hard to attain. They were incredibly lovely and humble.

Standing at the front of the house we were preparing to say our goodbyes and make our way to the airport to head back to LA. I extended my hand out one more time to shake Lucia's hand in gratitude.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Mrs. Torres. You two have been wonderful."

Lucia shook my hand away and pulled me into an embrace. "My dear, I think we are passed formalities. And please, call me Lucia."

I pulled away to let Calliope hug her mom and I turned to Carlos who also was waiting for a hug from me. He pulled me in and I obliged. "You take care of my little girl." He whispered into my hear.

"I will. I promise you."

We said our final goodbyes and hopped into the backseat of Joseph's car for the last time. We started to drive away and I looked out the window and bid farewell to the world that I had been exposed to over the last couple of days.

Not too shortly after, we were sitting at the airport near our gate waiting to board the flight heading home.

"So how many days do you have left on your vacation time?" Callie asked me. Her tone was a little strange. Kind of like she was up to something.

"I still have four days if you count the weekend. Why?" I responded. She was definitely up to something. What, I didn't know at the time.

She shot out of her seat like a cannon and grabbed her suitcase. Neither of us checked any of our luggage because our bags were small enough to pass as carry on. She told me to follow her and then she started making her way away from our gate. I quickly grabbed my bag and almost ran to catch up with her. I kept following close behind her not knowing what she was doing or where she was going.

She stopped at a desk where an airline worker was stationed. Because of the crowd I stood back and watched. I couldn't hear a word of what they were saying but within five minutes I saw the worker hand over something to Callie. With a smile on her face, Callie came walking towards me.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"You'll see. Come on, we don't have much time." She said and she dashed off again. This time I was hot on her tail following her through the airport. She stopped at a gate and got in line behind a group of people who were waiting to board their flight.

Still completely confused as to what on earth was happening, one because this was completely impulsive and crazy and two because this wasn't our gate. Then I over heard on the intercom a female airline worker say "Final boarding call for flight TX-5674 to Las Vegas, Nevada.

"Calliope, this isn't our flight."

"It is now." She said with a smile on her face.

"What do you mean it is now?" I asked. She just continued to smile at me. She went and bought tickets for a flight to Las Vegas, Nevada on impulse.

"You still have a couple days off. So, let's go have some fun before you go back to work." She said to me. We approached the worker with the boarding passes that Callie had bought and then proceeded to board the plane that was headed for Las Vegas.

I couldn't believe it this woman was crazy. But there we were sitting on a plane that was flying several thousand feet in the air not making it's way home.

"Calliope this is the craziest thing I have ever done in my life." I said to her quietly from our seats. She just looked to me with that smile that she always wears and responded. "Life is crazy. I told you before that life is an adventure, and..." She grabbed my hand softly rubbed circles on the back. "...life is too short. So I say we go a little crazy."

Soon after, we landed at the airport in Nevada and once we made it outside, Callie called out for a cab and we made our way into sin city. It was the middle of the afternoon so the strip didn't look as beautiful as it usually does at night.

"Calliope, don't take this as me trying to shut this idea down or anything, but I was just wondering. Where do you suppose we're going to stay while we are away?" I asked her.

She smiled to me and the cab came to a stop. She pointed out the window and I looked to the tall building in front of me. The sign raised high above me read 'Caesar's Palace' "Calliope, this is expensive. Are you sure? And what if we can't get a room?"

Callie paid off the cab driver and got out of the car, holding her hand out to help me exit the back seat of the cab, she said "Don't worry about the money. Or a reservation. Come on."

I grabbed her hand and followed her into the enormous lobby area of the hotel and casino. We walked right up to the concierge and the lady standing behind the desk greeted us with a smile. "Hello, and welcome to Caesar's Palace. Are you checking in?"

"Yes we are. Under Torres." Callie responded to the woman, politely.

The woman looked down to the computer screen in front of her and started to type on the keys on the keyboard. She looked back up and put a smile back on her face.

"Here we are. Mr. Torres booked it about an hour ago. Here are the keys to the suite. Hope you enjoy your stay miss."

"Thank you." Callie responded taking the keys to our room.

"So this isn't spontaneity, you had this planned?" I asked, thoroughly confused over the events that have occurred to me in the last few hours.

"No, this is definitely my spontaneous idea. I took the liberty of making a phone call on the plane while you were in the washroom." I smiled and laughed to myself at the craziness that was my girlfriend.

We walked in the direction of the elevators and were abruptly stopped by the hotel manager. "Excuse me, Miss Torres?" He said, holding out his hand so that Callie could shake his hand.

"Yes, hello. I'm Dr. Torres. This is my girlfriend, Arizona Robbins." She gestured to me. The man looked to me with a smile on his face and took my hand in his giving it a firm shake. Afterwards, he returned his attention into Callie's direction.

"Dr. Torres, your father Mr. Torres said that we would be expecting you. If there is anything that you two need in order to make your stay with us more comfortable, please don't hesitate to ask us."

"Thank you..." Callie started. She was searching for the man's name when he spoke up to answer it for her.

"Gregory"

"Thank you Gregory. We're just going to head up to the room now and relax for a bit before dinner. Thank you very much for your help. I think we will be alright for now."

"Well, enjoy your stay with us Dr. Torres, Ms. Robbins."

With that, Callie and I finally made it into the elevator and as soon as the doors closed, and we noticed we were completely alone in the elevator, I couldn't help myself and I pushed Callie against the elevator wall and brought our lips to a hungry crash.

Our hands were going wild all over each other, and I lost all my senses and inhabitions the second our bodies connected. As we were ascending in the elevator and the longer I found myself lost in the feeling of having a very hot and heavy make out session in a fancy hotel elevator, I couldn't help but notice that the ride up to our floor was incredibly long. In fact she never told me what floor we were on. I never even looked to see what button she pressed. Then I heard the dinging indicating that we had reached our requested floor. I broke away from Callie, and we both fixed ourselves up to look like we didn't just almost have sex in the elevator. I took that window of an opportunity to glance up to see what floor we stopped at. The twenty second.

Callie and I grabbed our bags off the floor and walked out into the hallway. I followed closely behind her as she led us to the room that we would be sleeping in for the next two days. She stopped at the end of the long corridor, and pulled out the key that the concierge had given her earlier. The light on the door turned green and Callie pushed the door open. As we walked inside, it was like as if my voice had caught in my throat. I couldn't form any words to express the magnificence of my environment. There was a king size bed made up with large white pillows and a white duvet folded down just at the top where the pillows were propped. Next to it was a simple arm chair and ottoman that sat near the sliding door leading out to the balcony that looked out into the city.

I walked into the bathroom and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. The room was floor to ceiling granite tile, the sink sat along a large mirror. I walked up and ran my hand along the smooth counter top. I looked into the mirror and behind me sat a large Jacuzzi bathtub and a glass shower. I walked out of the bathroom and back out to the bedroom to find Callie.

"Calliope, this room is awfully expensive for just a couple days, don't you think?" I asked.

Callie did what she always did. She shot me a smile and pulled me into her arms. "Don't worry about how much it costs. We are here to have a good time, so let's just focus on that."

Callie had taken me to Las Vegas to have a little fun before returning back to our reality in LA. Back to the doctor's appointments and my clients at the law firm. She wanted us to have a good time and well, that is exactly what happened.

We spent hours in the casino playing the various slots and then trying our hand at some of the tables. I had managed to win a couple hundred, but Callie walked out doing incredibly well. Callie had managed to walk away from one of the table games up about three thousand dollars. After that we went and had a nice dinner to unwind from all the excitement that the day had brought us, then went for a walk out on the strip. I had been to Vegas before then, but being there with Callie made it feel like an entirely new experience.

Arriving back at the hotel, I stepped out onto the balcony in our room and looked out into the lit up city as the cool night air danced along the surface of my skin. I could feel Callie walk up behind me and snake her arms around my waist.

"What are you thinking about?" She whispered in my ear so sweetly and kissed me behind my ear.

"How happy I am. Not about being in Vegas, but being with you. I just, don't know how I got so lucky." I said as I continued to look out into the night.

"I'm the lucky one. Every morning I wake up and say to myself 'I can't believe she picked me.' You are so beautiful Arizona. You have an amazing heart and spirit."

"It's because of you." I said to her, turning my head up to gaze up into her eyes. "It's because of you. You taught me how to be free. How to see the light in all of the darkness."

She smiled as a single tear trickled down her face. She leaned in and kissed me tenderly. Holding me close in her arms, our bodies seemed to melt into each other and I knew. That was where I was supposed to be. With her.


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hello everyone! Once again, here I am with another update for you all. I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks again to everyone who comments on the story. Knowing that you are all enjoying it makes me incredibly happy. I hope that you continue to comment and leave me your messages. They really do mean a lot. Without further adieu, here is Chapter 15.**

**Happy Reading! **

~ hASHbrown

Chapter 15

A couple days after our little spur of the moment trip to Vegas, I found myself back in LA and back to the realities of being an adult. Work, and bills to pay and an apartment to clean, and a girlfriend's health to worry about and more visits for chemotherapy.

The first couple days that we were back, Callie had a bit of a rough patch. I had figured that all the traveling had taken a toll on her body and I urged her to just stay home and relax till she was a bit better.

I went back to work, feeling rejuvenated and ready take on my caseload. As I sat in my office going over my next appointments case, I looked to a picture I had set on my desk of Callie and I on the beach in Miami. I was so incredibly happy. I had reached that point where I put a picture of us on my desk. This alone just reaffirmed my desire and aspiration to spend the rest of my life with her.

Our relationship was far from perfect. We quarreled from time to time but, mostly about her inability to slow down and rest, but when we made up, we really made up. I could never stay mad at her for very long. I like to think that she never could either.

But I digress, as I was saying I was in my office glancing over at a case when my clients had arrived. I rose out of my chair to greet them as my assistant escorted them into my office. "Mr. Thompson. Good to see you again.

Mr. Thompson was a very tall man with graying hair that was starting to recede back towards the crown of his head. A wealthy businessman who at the time was being sued by a former employee of his for wrongful termination. It was my job to have the case dismissed.

"Mr. Thompson, nice to see you again. Please take a seat. I've gone through the case, and the plaintiff is claiming that she was wrongfully terminated from her position because she was a female and not a male."

"Well I can tell you right now, that is absolutely ridiculous. W have never been nor ever will be a sexist organization, and for her to accuse us of other wise...that's slander." This man said to me completely outraged by the accusations of this woman.

"Well that's why you've come to the right place because we are going to prove her falsehood." I said smiling politely at him. Over the next couple of hours, Mr. Thompson and I were completely engaged in coming up with a plan that would save him from writing out a big fat check for a woman who just wanted to pocket some money for her own benefit.

"Alright so, this is exactly what I need you to do, okay. No deviating from my instructions. Understand?" I asked Mr. Thompson.

"Got it. Do exactly as you say, no exceptions."

"Okay, good. So what I want you to do is…." I started to say, but was cut off by my assistant's sudden need to make an appearance in my office.

"Sorry to interrupt but Arizona, can I talk to you outside for a moment please?" She said to me.

"Reed, I'm in the middle of something with a very important client. Can't it wait?" I asked. I was a little annoyed that I was interrupted so abruptly.

"Trust me, this is something you will want to know now. Something you would kill me for if I didn't tell you right now, so please just come into lobby." She urged once more.

Finally giving in I apologized to Mr. Thompson and excused myself from my office and stepped into the lobby with Reed. "Okay, Reed. What is so god damn important that I had to leave my client waiting?" I demanded. The anger of the situation was building up inside me and the last thing I wanted to be doing at that moment was standing outside my office listening to Reed tell me something that may be utterly ridiculous and a waste of time.

"I just got a call from Dr. Altman at St. Ambrose. Dr. Torres was admitted about 10 minutes ago."

The second that those words left my assistant's mouth; I could feel the blood drain from my body. Callie had allowed me to get so wrapped up in just being happy and living my life that I had never thought that day would come. I thanked Reed for passing the message and I walked back into my office where Mr. Thompson still was waiting for me patiently.

"I'm sorry Mr. Thompson but I have to leave. I know that it is very unprofessional but someone that I love more than anything is very ill and in the hospital and I have to go."

"Ms. Robbins, no need to explain. We can reschedule." He responded to me.

"Thank you, Mr. Thompson. Really. I have to leave so, just check in with my assistant on your way out and reschedule our meeting"

With that I had grabbed my things and headed straight for my car, sending Teddy a text on my out.

_**Meet me at the door in ten. –A**_

Once I arrived at the hospital I jumped out of the car and practically sprinted to the door. Fear and panic were the only emotions coursing through my body at that moment. Sprinting the distance from the parking lot to the door seemed to go on forever, but within seconds I was running through the automatic doors and as I had hoped, Teddy was waiting for me. I pulled her into a hug and after a few seconds, I pulled her away and spoke while trying to get my breathing back to normal.

"What….h….ha…happened?" I asked.

Teddy gently grabbed my arm and lightly started to guide me past the lobby and up to Callie's floor. Once she saw that I would comply and walk alongside her, she let go.

"She came in to visit with us and everything was fine while we were seated in the cafeteria but as soon as we got up to leave, she had an episode much like the last one. They've been running tests ever since. She should be back in her room now though. Come on." Teddy said and we headed up in the elevator.

Once we reached the floor, we walked down the long hospital hallway and I stopped just outside of Callie's room. "I want to go in there alone for a bit, okay?" I said to Teddy.

"Yeah, of course. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

Teddy left me outside Callie's door and I took in a deep breath to collect my thoughts before walking in. After a moment, I felt that I was as together as I could be given the situation and walked into her room. Her eyes were closed and she looked angelically peaceful even when lying in a hospital bed. I walked right up to her bedside and with my right hand I stroked her hair ever so gently.

She took in a breath and opened her eyes. She looked up to me and smiled. Her smile melted my heart like it always did and I bent down, placing a tender kiss to her forehead. I pulled the chair in the room closer to the bed and took a seat, taking Callie's hand in mine.

"Hey, beautiful." I said.

"Hey." She responded, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

"How you feeling?" I asked. Somewhere inside of me what I wanted to say was 'I told you, you should be taking it easy and resting.' But I knew that would be rather insensitive and I had decided to push that urge deep down.

"I'm alright. Just a little tired from all the tests." She responded.

"What will these tests show?" I asked. Deep down I knew what they would show. They would tell us whether Callie's cancer had gone or if it had progressed.

"They'll show if the chemo worked or not. I gotta be honest with you Arizona. I don't think the results are going to be good."

"Shh, shh. We'll just wait and see. Everything is going to be fine. Let's just relax and spend some time together." I said smiling to her. But I think she knew that my smile was a façade to cover the worry that was rising within me.

"They pulled you out of work. I remember you saying you had an appointment with an important client today, I'm so sorry."

"Hey, don't apologize. You are more important than any client and I would kill you if you didn't tell me." We both shared a laugh and I leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

For almost an hour I sat and watched her as she slept. She looked so peaceful and happy that I could just stare at her forever. For that entire hour I watched as her chest rose and fell, and there was no sound in the room except for the beeping of the machines that she was hooked up to. The only time that the silence was broken when a redhead woman walked into the room. Smiling to me she whispered, so as not to wake Callie.

"You must be Arizona. I'm Addison Montgomery. I'm one of Callie's friends." She stretched out her hand for me to shake, which I politely accepted.

"You're the Neonatal doctor at Oceanside or it's Seaside Wellness now, isn't it?" I asked. I had remembered seeing her on one of their commercials while watching TV once late at night.

"Yeah, that would be me. How's she doing?" She asked looking to a still sleeping Callie.

"She's been asleep most of the time so far and the doctors haven't come in to discuss her test results yet."

"Alright, well I have a surgery to. I just wanted to stop by after I heard that she was here. I'll come by a little later to see how she's doing. It was nice to meet you Arizona. I can see why she likes you." With that, Addison left the room leaving me with Callie who was stirring from her slumber. As she woke, Dr. Swinder finally came in. I looked to the door and saw Teddy and Mark waiting outside.

"Hi Ms. Robbins. Hey, Callie. I'm sorry I kept you two waiting this long for an update on your test results. We are a little backed up today."

"It's fine. But I assume you have them now, so please. Just tell it to me straight." Callie said. I grabbed her hand and turned my attention to Dr. Swinder.

This was the moment of truth. In that moment we found out what the situation was. We found out whether or not the chemo worked. What the plan would be from there on out.

"Well, I'm so sorry Callie. Your episode today occurred because the chemo isn't working fast enough."

"Fast enough? So it is working, though?" I asked. I had never really heard a doctor say that treatment wasn't working fast enough.

"It is and it isn't. The chemo is killing off the cancer, but as fast as your growth shrinks it enlarges. So really, I guess I have to back track what I just said and tell you that I am sorry but it isn't working."

"So, what happens now?"

"Well, at this stage in your illness, my recommendation would be to consider surgery."

"Surgery?" I asked. I didn't like the idea of them cutting my Calliope open. I knew that's what a lot of the doctors there, Callie included did for a living but when it came to someone that I loved, I just wanted to keep her safe. "What are her other options?"

"Ms. Robbins, the only other option would be to take her home make her comfortable and let the nature of her cancer take its course." She said to me.

"What's involved in the surgery?" Callie asked. Squeezing my hand because she knew that I was getting upset.

"Well we'd have to get a cardio surgeon to remove the growth from your lung." Dr. Swinder answered.

"Okay, so you're saying either do the surgery, where there is a risk of death while on the table, or send her home and wait for her to die from the cancer?"

"I'm very sorry Ms. Robbins…"

"No, this is….this is ridiculous. This isn't right!" I stormed out of Callie's room and went for a long stroll through the hospital. I walked around the halls and on all the floors for over an hour, just trying to come to terms with the information I had been given by Dr. Swinder. I just couldn't wrap my head around all of this.

Never did I imagine in the span of a year, I found myself in the same position twice. Once again, someone that I loved was possibly dying. 'I could take her home and let her die on her own. At least there would be some comfort there and she can die with dignity and with peace. Or convince her to do the surgery and quite possibly spend the rest of my life with her.' I remember thinking to myself.

When I found out that she was sick, I had made a vow to myself to help save her life because she saved mine. Right at that second I had come to a decision. I wasn't going to back down from my promise. I convinced her to fight the first time. I can do it again.

I walked back to Callie's room and saw Teddy standing outside looking in through the window. Callie was propped up in the bed, with Mark sitting and having a laugh with her about something.

"She's laughing." I said. I was a little shocked to find Callie laughing after the news that was delivered just an hour or so ago.

"That's how she wanted it. She didn't want their visit to be sad, so she told him to be his usual charming self. It's because for the first time she's scared. She's scared to leave you. Scared that the cancer killing her will in return kill you."

I remember my eyes beginning to burn as they threatened to shed tears that were building up. "I don't want to lose her. I'm not ready. We just found each other. Up until this moment, it has been a nearly perfect summer. I want her to have the surgery. If it means I get to keep her, then I want her to keep fighting."

Teddy turned to me "She wants to fight too. She's not ready to give up. Arizona let me be the surgeon on her case. Let me be the one to operate. It's what she wants. She just hopes that you want the same thing. I am asking you to put your faith in me and trust that I will take care of her."

I pulled my best friend into an almost suffocating hug. I held her close to me and let the tears run free. "You're the best. Not just as a friend, but I know that you are the best in your field, so yes. I trust you to operate on her."

I pulled away when I heard Mark come out into the hallway. "Hey, she's all yours." He said resting his hand gently on my shoulder. He and Teddy then walked off and into the elevator. As soon as I saw the doors close, I returned my attention to the woman I saw lying in a bed through the window. I took in a deep breath and then braved the threshold of the door that would lead me back to her.

I walked in and walked right up to her resuming my original position in the chair next to her bed. I took her hand on mine, resting it on the edge of the bed and smiled to her. "Hey."

"Hey." She smiled back. "I'm glad you came back. Listen, Arizona, this isn't the end. I'm not done fighting. I want the surgery, and I want Teddy to do it."

"I know. If the surgery is what you want, then I want it too and I couldn't think of anyone better to do it than Teddy." I said giving her hand a squeeze.

By nine o'clock that night, all the staff that were at the hospital when I arrived had pretty much all left and the night rotation had already started. Teddy and Mark had stopped by to say goodnight before heading out and it left Callie and I alone. We kept the conversation light and happy to keep our spirits up, even though deep down I think we both knew what was going to happen tomorrow.

Addison had come back to check on Callie and the second that Addison walked into the room, Callie's face lit up. "Hey, I heard you were here earlier but I thought you would have gone home by now."

Addison smiled and approached the bed. "I wanted to come say hi and see how you were doing."

"Well the treatments didn't work as well as we had hoped, so I'm having surgery tomorrow to remove it."

Addison gave her a smile. A smile that said that she didn't know what to say to her friend. A friend who could be dead tomorrow if the surgery didn't go well. "Well, I will come by tomorrow to check on you post-op okay?"

"I would love that Addie." She smiled

"Okay, well….goodnight you two." Addison said before walking out of the room and leaving us alone again in the quiet.

Callie and I sat in silence, not really looking at each other. We didn't really know what to say. I had been here before, with Joanne. Only Joanne never knew I still loved her and I never knew if Joanne still loved me. I had been here before, only this time it felt a little different. Callie knew I loved her and I knew she loved me. We shared an incredible summer together I had just found her and I wasn't ready to let her go. I finally glanced over to her and her eyes were closing. "You're tired. Get some rest." I said.

She glanced to me and smiled a little. "Come here for a second. Come lay with me here." She patted her hand on the bed inviting me to climb in beside her. I stood up from my chair and climbed in as she requested. I rested my head in the crook of her neck and she wrapped her arms around me as I began to cry uncontrollably. "I'm not ready to let you go."

"And I'm not ready to go. I'm still fighting. I will fight to my very last breath."

She held me tight in her arms as I continued to cry into her neck. I had thought that what I went through with Joanne were some of the worst days of my life, but this was so much worse. I couldn't even keep it together anymore. I was scared to death.

"I love you." I said within my sobbing.

"And I love you." She responded. Not too soon after we both drifted off to sleep. I was still in the bed and Callie still held me safe in her embrace.

The next day, I had woken up and Callie was still sleeping. I had decided to slip out and grab something to eat. I went down to the cafeteria and got a cup of coffee and a bagel. Bringing it back up to the room, I ate in silence as I watched Callie sleep in the bed. Only the steady rhythm of the beeping from the machines filled the room.

When she had finally woken up, we once again kept the conversation as light as possible. We both knew that at any moment, Teddy would come in and say that it was time. Sure enough like I had said at around ten thirty Teddy came into the room.

"Hey guys. Well, it's time to go. Arizona I will have someone inform you of what's going on as often as I can okay?" She said to me.

"Thank you." I responded letting out a deep breath.

"Okay, Cal. You ready to go?" Teddy asked as a bunch of nurses and doctors came in and got Callie ready to head to the operating room.

"Yeah, let's do this." She nodded.

They started to wheel her out of the room and into the hallway when she suddenly asked them to stop. "Wait. Just wait a second. Arizona?"

I walked to her side and grabbed her hand that was stretched out for me to grab. She placed her other hand on top of mine and looked at me with all the love in the world. "What is it?" I asked.

"I just want you to know that I love you. You have made me so incredibly happy."

"No, no. No goodbyes." I said as the tears began to fall down my cheeks.

"I have to say this, please. You have made me so incredibly happy. I love you more than anything and I just need you to know that no matter what happens today….if I don't make it I can die in peace. I can leave this world knowing that I have felt love, knowing that you love me. I can leave this world knowing that I was loved and that you know that I love you."

"I love you Calliope." I said, the tears profusely running down both our faces. I leaned down and kissed her passionately but tenderly and then they wheeled her off down the hall and into what at the time felt like the realm of uncertainty. All I could do then was sit and wait.


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hello Again everyone! I decided to be nice and not make you wait for an update. There will be one more chapter after this and that will be the end of this tale. I have my next two stories already worked out so I really want to move onto those stories. But while I start to write the next one, I will be posting the sequel to Till Death Do Us Part, as I had promised before but never got around to doing it. Again I would like to thank everyone who comments after every update and I hope you continue to do so. **

**Happy Reading everyone!**

**~hASHbrown**

Chapter 16

Most people think I was named for the state but it's not true. I was named for a battleship. The U.S.S. Arizona. My grandfather was serving on the Arizona when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and he saved nineteen men before he drowned. Pretty much everything my father did his whole life was about honoring that sacrifice. I was raised to be a good man in a storm. Raised to love my country, love my family and protect the things I love.

When I met Joanne, we were both naïve and young. Joanne was my first love and I had always pictured that we'd be together forever. That's usually what happens with your first love. Or so I've been told. You feel like your heart is being ripped from your chest and stomped all over on when it comes to an end. That was Joanne and I. Joanne leaving me for someone else ripped my heart out, and when she died, she crushed it. I spent months wallowing in my sadness over the fact that the girl I was so angry with, I still loved and was heartbroken that she was taken away.

But this, this was on a whole other level. Joanne and I probably never would have gotten back together. We just didn't mesh perfectly. But Callie, Callie and I were a perfect fit. We could push each other's buttons, but we loved each other with such a passion that I had never experienced before. Truth is, I wasn't really living till I met Callie. She opened my eyes and showed the potential happiness and sense of freedom that my life could possess.

The day she went in for surgery had become the worst day of my life. Like I said before I was raised to be a good man in a storm and raised to protect the people that I love the most. I loved Callie. Still do. And on that day all I wanted was to protect her. All I wanted was to hold her close to me and keep her safe. Keep her with me. But I had to trust that whatever the universe had planned was what was meant to be.

That day was the longest day of my life. Sitting for hour after hour not really knowing what's going on, a doctor coming out ever so often telling me that they were still working on her. The hours I spent in the waiting area were spent in my memories of how we ended up in there.

"_Hey, Dr. Altman, do you have a minute to do a quick consult? I have a post op patient who is complaining of shortness of breath." _

_I looked to the woman and she immediately smiled at me. I smiled back and then I saw her extend her hand out to take mine. "We seem to be running into each other everywhere, I'm Callie."_

_Taking hold of her hand, I tried to build up the strength to respond without sounding like a blubbering idiot. Nervously giggling I said "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Arizona. Teddy's friend."_

"_Hey. You okay? I saw you bolt pretty quickly" I heard. I turned around from where I was sitting and saw Callie standing in the doorway._

"_Yeah, it's just umm….uhh….my girlfriend, or well my ex-girlfriend, she died up on that floor. Just seeing the room…."_

"_Hey, don't worry. You don't have to say any more. I'm sorry for your loss. You clearly really loved her."_

"_I did. I'm sorry, I'm such a mess." _

"_No, no, no. Don't be sorry. I know that it's really none of my business, and we don't really know each other but may I suggest something?"_

"_Umm, sure I guess." I responded_

"_Tomorrow is my day off and I was planning on taking a little road trip to this cute little town. It's small and there's some cute little shops. It's away from all the hustle and bustle. You should come with me."_

"_That's really sweet, but I can't."_

"_From what Teddy has told me, you work too much. This could be good, you know? To have a little fun."_

"_I barely know you."_

"_Well, what better way to get to know each other than to spend the day together. Hang out."_

"_I appreciate it, really. It's just that, I completely put my life on hold to take care of my ex, and now I have to catch up. I can't…"_

"_Come on, why not?" She asked me._

"_Because, life's in the way. I don't have time."_

"_Arizona, life isn't in the way of anything here." She said to me with a slight laugh._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I am offering you some fun. I'm offering you some life."_

"_Sounds more like you're offering me an adventure as opposed to life" I said smiling back at her._

"_Life is an adventure."_

_"You, okay? You're face is beet red."_

_"This is going to sound a little odd, maybe but I don't really care. From the second I saw you out on the beach, I've been attracted to you. And the more we've gotten to know each other, the more attracted I've become. But I was grieving over Joanne and used that as an excuse not to be happy or to move on with my life. But I can't take it anymore and...in like three seconds, I'm going to kiss you and if you don't want me to…well, you will have to push me away."_

Memories kept fading in and out of my mind for hour after hour. The first time that I saw her…the first night we ever made love. It was all a catalyst for ending up sitting in a hospital waiting room wondering if the love of my life was going to live or die.

_"Calliope?" I called out. There was no answer. "Calliope, you okay?"_

_I opened her door and saw her laying unconscious on the bedroom floor. I rushed to her side in a panic. "Calliope! Oh my god! Oh my god!"_

_"Hi, I'm doctor Swinder."_

_"Hi, I'm Arizona." I said. The worry and fear was rising within me rather quickly every second the doctor wasn't saying anything. She then directed the conversation to Calliope. _

_"Callie, you are doing okay. But your episode was due to the cancer. Now, I know you refused treatment the last time we spoke but, I am telling you that it is still small enough that I have high hopes that we can kick it in the butt with treatment. Just think about it okay."_

_"Arizona! Arizona, wait! Can you just talk to me?"She called out._

_I turned around and saw her standing out in the pouring rain getting soaked by the second. "Callie, get inside before you catch a cold!" _

_"No! Not until you talk to me."_

_"How long did you know you were sick?" I asked her as I approached slowly._

_"I found out two months before I even met you. I have a growth in my lung. It's been small enough that, it hasn't affected any of the physical activity I do, but today was the first time it's ever gotten to me."_

_"Why would you refuse treatment, then?" I was angry and she knew it, but I was thankful that she was at least being honest with me now. _

_"Because I figured that it was what it was. I figured if I pushed it to the back of my mind and just carried on with my life that it wouldn't get to me. Concentrating on all that was good in my life was a hell of a lot better than concentrating on my illness and living in fear."_

_"Why...why didn't you tell me?" _

_"Because you were wallowing in your grief over your ex-girlfriend! She died of cancer! Do you think if you had known before hand that I had cancer, you would have initiated a romantic relationship between us? Would you still have gone out with me?... I didn't think so." _

_"I want you to fight this. Get the treatment. I want you to get the treatment because you made me fall for you. You made me fall for you and now I'm in love with you and you are in love with me. So I want you to get the treatment and fight because I'm not done loving you."_

I sat there remembering the good, remembering the bad. Just sitting and waiting. Waiting for whatever what as the hours progressed seemed would be bad news. I didn't want to go on living. If Callie, my beautiful Calliope didn't make it, I didn't want to live. I couldn't even imagine living a life where Callie no longer existed.

I sat there hour after hour, not really sure of what was going on. I had been told that the longer it takes, meant that Callie was still alive. Which I guess you could say was a good thing, but at the time all that waiting ever did to me was set me further on to the edge of insanity.

As I sat in the chair, I couldn't hear all the noises that were occurring around me. All that would register in my mind was the constant rhythm of the ticking of the clock that was above me on the wall. Tick, tick, tick. Every second went on and on for what felt like forever.

At some point Mark came and sat with me to make sure I was holding up okay.

"Hey, Arizona. How you holding up? Do you need anything?" He asked me.

"No, thank you though. I'm okay, really."

"You sure. You should maybe go eat something. Keep your strength up."

"I can't." I replied.

Mark moved his chair a little closer to me and even though I really didn't care for the man, I couldn't help but fall into his embrace. "I'm sitting here, and all I can think of is how I got here. How we got into this situation. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed her to get treatment. Then we wouldn't be here right now. I probably could have spared her some pain."

"You can't think about the way things could have been if you had done them differently. Don't think about how you got to sitting here awaiting the fate of Callie's mortality. Instead, think of the great memories you shared this summer. Hold on to the good stuff an pray that she makes it alright. Hold on to those memories, because no matter what she will live. She will live in here." He said to me resting his hand above my heart as a tear came to his eye.

"I've never heard a man speak that way before." I said. I had heard stories that this man was a manwhore but he was being incredibly sweet and moving.

"Don't let anyone know." He responded with a small chuckle.

"You really care about her don't you?" I asked.

"She's my best friend. One of the best people I know. She wears her heart on her sleeve and she cares like crazy."

"Yeah. She does. Thank you, Mark. I appreciate you being here right now." I said to him as I pulled out of his embrace.

His pager went off soon after. He apologized for the timing and then went on his way to wherever he was being paged to.

As I continued to sit in the chair my eyes fixated on the clock on the wall, all I could do was hold on to the words that Callie had said to her father.

_"I will beat this daddy. I will not be responsible for taking her happiness away. I will not be the one who breaks her heart and kills her all over again. I won't leave her, I can't. I cannot be another dead girlfriend in the story of her life. I won't have that be her story, because she deserves better. She will have a future, and I am going to fight with everything I have to make sure that that future has me in it." _

_"You love her a great deal don't you?" _

_"I love her more than life itself…"_

The words replayed in my mind over and over again. It was a conversation that I was never meant to hear but I was happy to have heard it. I continued watching the clock, just replaying that conversation over and over praying that she would be strong enough to stick to her word and come out on the other side alive.

Finally I saw Teddy coming down the hall. I glanced back up at the clock. Eight hours. I had sat in that chair for eight hours dreading what the words were going to be that were about to come out of my best friend's mouth. I immediately stood up and walked right up to her. Her face had a somber expression, right away my heart felt like it was going to be ripped to shreds for the second time in my life.

"Just give it to me straight, Teddy. I need you to just say it." My voice hitched in my throat. This was it.

"Teddy took a deep breath and opened her mouth. "We got it. She's in recovery and they will bring her back to her room soon."

I threw myself at Teddy, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her in. She held on to me for dear life as I cried profusely in her embrace.


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey Everybody! My apologies on the delay. I've actually had this written and finished for over a week and I've been so busy working and taking care of other things that I just couldn't find the time to sit down and post this. But here it is the final chapter. It isn't very long but it is short and sweet and I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you again to everyone who has been following the story...and I would like to take this opportunity to ask you all for your opinion. I'm not too sure I want to do this, but I was considering writing this story from Callie's perspective as well, as sort of a companion piece. Any thoughts? Suggestions? I would love to hear. I've already started writing the next story and I'm really excited about it. It's unlike anything that has ever been done in a Calzona fanfic. At least from what I can see. **

**Anyway, thanks again everyone and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I had writing it. I promise to have 'Till Death Do Us Part's sequel story up within the next couple of days... maybe even this afternoon...**

**happy reading!**

**~hASHbrown**

Chapter 17

I said in the very beginning of my story that life is fascinating. I stand by what I said. I would also like to bring to light something that Callie once told me. Life is an adventure. At the time when she said that to me, I wasn't too sure what she meant. But now I know. The universe definitely set me on this incredible adventure. An adventure that hasn't ended yet.

That day in the hospital when I was waiting and praying that Callie would make it; that she would live I thought that if some twist of fate decided that I were to lose her, I would die. If I lost her I wouldn't want to go on living. As I have said before, Callie saved my life. She brought me out of my darkest hour and showed me what my life could truly be like. A life filled with love, happiness and joy. A life full of hope and promise. In doing so, I fell in love with her. Deeper and deeper everyday. I became so deeply attached that I didn't want a life where she didn't exist.

But here I am today. I am alive, I am healthy and I am living my life. And I don't just mean getting up and going to work every day, I mean really living.

_"I will beat this daddy. I will not be responsible for taking her happiness away. I will not be the one who breaks her heart and kills her all over again. I won't leave her, I can't. I cannot be another dead girlfriend in the story of her life. I won't have that be her story, because she deserves better. She will have a future, and I am going to fight with everything I have to make sure that that future has me in it." _

Those words stay with me always. I have never forgotten them not even for a moment. They are words that I hold on to and hold them close to my heart because she stayed true to her word. She fought. She fought and she had won. Callie had beaten the cancer and has been cancer free ever since. The regular check ups that she gets every few months, always come back with the same result that there are no new cancer cells and that she is doing well.

Don't get me wrong. Nothing was "easy peasy". Her recovery was long, stressful and a little painful to watch. All I wanted to do was protect her and make it all better, but only time and patience could do that. But today, today we are in a good place. I love her more and more as the day goes by and she makes sure to tell me as many times as possible every day that she loves me.

My life is filled with love, and I couldn't ask for anything more. I can finally say that for real this time I have everything in life that I could possibly want. I have a woman that I am head over heals in love with who loves me back; I have a fantastic job and live in a fantastic city. And I will soon have a fabulous house to come home to where Calliope will be there to welcome me home after a long days work.

But right now, right now we're taking another adventure. Today Callie and I are on our way to Spain. To lounge on the beach and sip on sangrias. This trip will be perfect. Why? You might ask. Well, while there I am about to embark on the biggest adventure of my life.

When Callie was well enough to finally come home she said something to me that completely through me for a loop.

"_Arizona, I have just survived something terrible. For awhile there I thought I was going to die and couldn't bare the thought of leaving you."_

"_I'm so happy Calliope that you didn't. I don't know what I would do if I lost you." I said tears at bay as I leaned down to kiss Callie as she sat on the hospital bed waiting for discharge papers._

"_I am so happy that I'm still here. So happy to be alive, because for once I have someone who is worth going through hell for. I had always thought that I was just meant to be alone my whole life. But then you came into my life and I truly felt what love was."_

"_Oh, Calliope I love you so much."_

"_And I love you. So, call me crazy if you like but I'm alive and I don't want to waste any second. I know it's too soon we've only really been together for a few months but deep down I know this is right. So, I'd like to ask you to take a leap of faith. To take a chance and marry me because I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life making you smile and going on adventures." _

So that is where we are today, on a plane for Spain, for our wedding. It will be small with only both our parents, Teddy, Mark and Addison. I don't think I could imagine my life being any different now. I'm definitely taking a leap of faith and diving head first into this next adventure. You might think it's too soon. But truth of the matter is, when you know it's right, you take the chance.

I have to thank Joanne. I still miss her. I miss her everyday, because well like she said to me that night that she left me, we were best friends before we were ever lovers. I thank my late best friend every day now. Every day I say thank you because if I didn't go through what I went through with Joanne, I never would have met Callie. If I hadn't met Callie, I don't think I ever would have discovered just how strong I could be.

So I thank Joanne everyday, because thanks to her I found everything I needed. Callie makes me a better person. She showed me I was stronger than I thought and taught me that as complicated as life can be, the simplest thing is to choose to be happy. To live your life to it's fullest. So that is what I'm doing. I'm choosing to be happy. I'm choosing life. I'm choosing Callie.


End file.
